Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Tourism Development
Iveta Druva-Druvaskalne, Ilgvars
A
bols and Agita Š
k
ara
Introduction
Latvia is a land of diverse terrain where
plains alternate with hillocks and river valleys;
57% of the territory lies above 100 metres
although the highest land is just 311 metres
above the sea level. The country has more than
2,250 lakes, most of which are found in eastern
Latvia. Nearly all inland waters are pollution-
free and ideally suited for swimming and fish-
ing. The sea coast stretches 497 km along the
Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Riga. At present,
8.5% of Latvian territory is protected by law.
There are four state reserves, three national
parks, 22 nature parks, 211 nature reserves, six
protected landscape areas, and one biosphere
reserve. They offer important environments for
ecotourism (Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia,
2004a, pp. 6-8; Pil
a
ts, 2004).
Latvia is divided into four historical cul-
tural regions: Kurzeme, Zemgale, Latgale and
Vidzeme, named after ancient tribes who used
to live in each area. They present a diversity of
cultural landscapes. These include distinctive
farmhouses and a range of wooden buildings
in traditional architectural styles, castles from
medieval times, manor houses and churches.
In 1991 Latvia declared the restoration
of its independence, and in 2004 the coun-
try's most important foreign policy goals -
membership of both the European Union and
NATO - were fulfilled.
Latvia is located on the eastern coast of the
Baltic Sea, bordering Estonia in the north,
Lithuania in the south, Russia and Belarus
in the east, the latter acting as an EU exter-
nal eastern border. The territory of Latvia
(64.589 km
2
) is only a little smaller than that of
The Netherlands and Belgium together; it is
larger than Switzerland or Denmark, but its
population is one of the smallest among EU
member countries at just 2.3m, with a low
population density averaging 36 people per
km
2
(Central
Statistical
Bureau
of
Latvia,
2004a, p. 32).
An ethnic demographic mix is largely the
result of massive post-war immigration, which
resulted in a decline in the proportion of ethnic
Latvians from 77% in 1935 to 52% in 1989.
In the post-Soviet period the proportion of
Latvians has grown, reaching 58% in 2004.
Russians and other Baltic groups make up
most of the remaining population. Nearly one
third of Latvia's population (739,000) lives in
the capital city, R
i
ga, founded in 1201. The
value of R
i
ga's cultural and historical signifi-
cance has been recognized by the fact that the
city's historic centre has been included in
UNESCO's list of the world's most important
cultural and natural sites.
