Volume of incoming tourism down 20%, outgoing down 40%

In a rare show of unity that perhaps shows the gravity of the situation facing outbound travel, Konstantins Palgovs, head of the tour operator Tez Tour in Latvia and Enriko Ruzickis, sales director of arch rival operator Novatours join Kitija Gitendorfa, president of the Association of Latvian Travel Agents, in saying that more and more tourists are opting for “last minute” package tours, thinking that they will cost less. Consequently, the number of reservations being booked well beforehand has decreased by 70 percent this year. Clearly, this phenomenon has been emphasized by the deep financial crisis in Latvia. The volume of incoming tourism has decreased by 20 percent, outgoing by 40 percent.