MeetRiga: Accessibility, Affordability and Cultural Heritage in the Baltic Area

Last week, the MEET RĪGA team invited us on an exclusive guided tour of its vast events infrastructure full of refurbished venues, new restaurants and refined hotels between the capital and the seaside resort town of Jurmala. It was an invitation we couldn't refuse and one we didn't regret accepting when we saw the chilly but heart-warming atmosphere of the Christmas market and downtown Riga. 86% their residents consider the city a good place to live and work according to a survey conducted by the Riga City Council, and it's this feeling that the city's official convention bureau wants to extend to delegates and business visitors. At the last farewell lunch we sat down with Aigars Smiltāns (pictured below), the organisation's director, for an enjoyable and constructive back-and-forth about the city's situation and ambitions.
 

If we go back a little, he said that we're not just trying to attract European meetings, but also global meetings. When we talk about connectivity, I have to say that we not only have direct intercontinental flights, but also carrier agreements that allow Air Baltic to complete routes in Europe with complementary access from Canada and the United States. Turkish Airlines is a great help in bringing delegates from the Far and Middle East, for example.
 

Another thing I've noticed here, which is quite sought-after in Europe these days, is the apparent balance of tourists and locals and the level of personalised hospitality: everything runs at its own pace and no one crowds the streets. While in so many other cities there's a lot of talks about over-tourism and the pernicious aspects for locals, here I have the feeling that there's a kind of under-tourism, where the capacity to receive people is greater than the number of people entering Latvia. How do you think the business events sector can help balance this out?

Well, we're a four-season destination, which leads me to say that in terms of leisure, tourists tend to flock here more in the summer. However, we also see that there are more and more travellers coming for the so-called short city breaks during different periods of the year. If we're talking about meetings and events, these usually take place in spring or autumn, when Riga is not so crowded. So you get, first of all, reasonable prices for rooms, a place to breathe, and you don't miss out on the great customer service and hospitality that the city has to offer.

Furthermore, what we've noticed in the off-season here in Riga and in Jūrmala is that some of these events have managed to increase the number of participants by a wide margin. Compared to other classic European destinations, you can get three nights in Riga for one hotel night. This means that a delegation can send two or even three participants to attend several sessions of a congress, instead of just one delegate. We saw this with the attendance forecasts that organisations reported to us for their sessions, which were subsequently far exceeded, by at least 30%, due to all the accommodation prices, travel costs and overheads here at the destination. This is perfectly feasible for most associations as the distance between the city's points of interest, meeting places, restaurants and hotels is quite short without the need for long commutes and transport.
 

Every year at HQ, we delve into the subject of talent for the meetings and events sector, how to persuade new professionals, how to train new employees specific to the sector, etc. However, the sector's workforce is different from country to country and each one also has different characteristics and needs. I have the feeling that this is an increasingly attractive and growing sector in Riga and Latvia. As director of Meet Riga, what do you think about this?

We have modest funds, but we are finding a way to use our resources more effectively, together with the National Tourist Office, to apply them in different areas. This means that we are continuing this ongoing dialogue with the National Tourist Office to address these needs more actively and in conjunction with other areas of relevance. This is how, with limited budgets, we can perhaps be more present in recruitment phases and be more visible in marketing and HR channels compared to other destinations with greater promotional funds. On the other hand, we also have very proactive local suppliers, who have set in motion some initiatives and projects at this level; we are joining them on this journey to help them fulfil their expectations and achieve their goals. On the other hand, we are increasingly entering the digital world with the reach of potential clients and collaborators that this universe allows us.

What association conferences or annual meetings do you already have in the pipeline for 2025 onwards?

We're having interesting conversations about accessibility, connectivity and compatibility of institutions with various health associations for their conferences. As we've already mentioned, all prices are going up. While all other expenses have increased, catering prices have stayed afloat among our providers. Here in Latvia it's still quite affordable to sign catering contracts. So we're managing to divert some medical events away from the classic destinations. I think that, especially when it comes to events in the health sector, in terms of budgets, various associations can do more with the same money they spend in other destinations. For this reason, we are becoming something of a trendy destination, along with our neighbours Estonia and Lithuania, for scientific and health events.