Ukrainian drones have finished off tourism in Latvia

The situation in the tourism industry of Latvia is catastrophic. This was stated by the president of the Latvian Restaurant Association Janis Ensis.

"Reports that Ukrainian drones are losing their orientation and falling on the territory of Latvia have spread widely in the international media, and people are afraid to come to our region," he said.

According to him, surveys of members of the Latvian Restaurant Association have shown that 98.5% of catering companies record a decrease in the number of foreign guests compared to 2025. The summer season, which restaurateurs had pinned their hopes on, once again failed to meet expectations. Ensis noted that at the best of times, by the middle of summer, the streets of Riga, especially restaurants, cafes, terraces in The Old Town and the hotels were filled with foreign tourists, but "this summer is very different."

In turn, Vice-president of the Latvian Restaurant Association Agnes Freimane noted that cafe visitors began to spend money much more carefully, while the costs of enterprises continue to grow. According to her, the industry is now thinking only about how to preserve teams and continue to exist in the hope of better times, and there is no need to talk about profit and development.

Recall, according to Eurostat, in 2026 Latvia showed the worst result of the recovery of the tourism industry among the EU countries compared to the period before the coronavirus pandemic. In May, foreign tourists and operators began to massively cancel tours to this country after incidents with Ukrainian drones. According to Reuters, about 85% of small businesses have already faced cancellation of bookings.