Following the introduction of stricter entry procedures for Russian citizens in the Baltic States in September 2022, over 4,000 Russians have been denied entry, Rustamas Liubajevas, commander of Lithuania’s State Border Guard Service (VSAT), announced, LRT reports. He said that Estonia had turned away 1,850, Lithuania 1,278, and Latvia 890 Russian citizens. Liubajevas revealed that…
Accommodation establishments in Estonia received a total of 265,000 guests in May 2023, which was 7% more than in the same month of 2022, according to data from Statistics Estonia, ERR reports. The number of foreign guests totalled 141,000, which was 21% more than a year earlier. The number of tourists from Finland amounted to…
Latvia’s Riga International Airport (RIX) served over 3 million passengers in the first half of 2023, which was nearly 40% more than in the same period of 2022, LSM reports. Transit passengers accounted for 21% of the total, which was up from 17% a year earlier. The average load factor of passenger aircraft stood at…
Estonian shipping company Tallink Grupp carried a total of 1,541,081 passengers in the second quarter of 2023, which was down 0.7% from 1,552,174 in the same period of 2022, The Baltic Times reports. The drop was mostly due to the fact that the company has chartered out 7 of its 15 vessels. Tallink transported 85,359…
Latvia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced the resumption of limited acceptance of visa applications from Russian citizens at Latvian diplomatic and consular missions abroad, LSM reports. The decision comes after the suspension of all visa applications from Russian citizens in response to the Wagner Group mutiny in Russia. Visa applications will now be accepted…
Around half of Estonian residents plan to go on vacation abroad in summer 2023, according to a survey by insurance firm If Kindlustus, BNS reports. Around 20% of respondents intend to go on vacation in a neighbouring country, while some 25% will travel farther away, including 7% to a holiday destination outside Europe. Meanwhile, 41%…
Three people drowned in the Baltic Sea at the same time off the Latvian coast in Carnikava on 1 July 2023, DELFI reports. The three people — two young men and a 40-year-old woman — were swept away by strong waves and underwater currents. When rescuers arrived at the scene, the three persons were already…
Estonia’s Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (TTJA) checked 50 websites of companies and entrepreneurs providing accommodation services in autumn and winter 2022/2023 for compliance, DELFI reports. TTJA checked if the website information on service providers, prices, and booking conditions was correct and sufficient. The agency found that price information was unclear in 20 cases,…