Latvian Country Tourism association "Lauku ceļotājs"
Latvian Country Tourism Association
Latvian country tourism association “Lauku ceļotājs” (Country Traveller) was established in 1993, and at the beginning of 2010, it brought together some 350 owners of countryside tourist accommodations in Latvia, as well as in Lithuania and Estonia. Since 1999, the Association has been a member of Eurogites, the European Federation for Farm and Village Tourism. The goal for the association is to promote rural tourism in Latvia. Country Traveller employs between 10 and 15 people at its office in Rīga.
The following are our activities:
The following are our activities:
- We seek to promote innovation, diversity and competition in country tourism;
- We promote co-operation between country tourism and other business sectors, local governments, as well as rural communities;
- We try to popularise country tourism, enhance its recognisability, and promote public interest in the process;
- We monitor supply and demand in country tourism, offering regular reports on the sector’s development;
- We represent the interests of businesspeople in the sector in relations with government institutions.
The Association’s budget is made up of membership fees, project financing, fees collected for marketing, consultation and other services, as well as donations.
We check every accommodation and every active tourism route (biking, boating, hiking) ourselves. Thanks to our reservations system, our ongoing discussions with foreign tour operators, our presence at tourism fairs and exhibitions, the requests and responses posted on our homepage, www.celotajs.lv, and our other marketing activities, we know what kinds of things our clients want, and that means that we can suggest areas of development for owners of country accommodations.
We promote country tourism in a broader sense via projects which we organise to develop active and environmental tourism. We involve local residents through projects such as “Countryside Bounty” where farmers and craftspeople open their doors to visitors. We also help to initiate dialogue between the tourism, environmental protection, agricultural and other economic sectors. We popularise country travelling in regular marketing publications – a catalogue of accommodations, as well as various guides and maps. Each time that we promote a new tourism product (bike route, hiking route, motor route, boat trip, environmental tour), we traditionally engage in a discussion with all relevant parties – tourism service providers, local governments, the national government – about any problems that might exist in relation to the product and how those problems can be addressed. We also represent the interests of the sector by taking part in the work of working groups at the relevant ministries in preparing legislation, as well as other documents and regulations of national importance.
Each year we organise conferences and seminars on subjects that are of importance to the country tourism sector.
Regular and updated information about the association’s work and the things that are on offer in the countryside can be found at www.celotajs.lv – accommodations, travel routes, our latest publications, seasonal offers, and various events.
The Internet site http://www.prof.celotajs.lv contains updated professional information for providers of country tourism services.
We check every accommodation and every active tourism route (biking, boating, hiking) ourselves. Thanks to our reservations system, our ongoing discussions with foreign tour operators, our presence at tourism fairs and exhibitions, the requests and responses posted on our homepage, www.celotajs.lv, and our other marketing activities, we know what kinds of things our clients want, and that means that we can suggest areas of development for owners of country accommodations.
We promote country tourism in a broader sense via projects which we organise to develop active and environmental tourism. We involve local residents through projects such as “Countryside Bounty” where farmers and craftspeople open their doors to visitors. We also help to initiate dialogue between the tourism, environmental protection, agricultural and other economic sectors. We popularise country travelling in regular marketing publications – a catalogue of accommodations, as well as various guides and maps. Each time that we promote a new tourism product (bike route, hiking route, motor route, boat trip, environmental tour), we traditionally engage in a discussion with all relevant parties – tourism service providers, local governments, the national government – about any problems that might exist in relation to the product and how those problems can be addressed. We also represent the interests of the sector by taking part in the work of working groups at the relevant ministries in preparing legislation, as well as other documents and regulations of national importance.
Each year we organise conferences and seminars on subjects that are of importance to the country tourism sector.
Regular and updated information about the association’s work and the things that are on offer in the countryside can be found at www.celotajs.lv – accommodations, travel routes, our latest publications, seasonal offers, and various events.
The Internet site http://www.prof.celotajs.lv contains updated professional information for providers of country tourism services.
Contacts: www.celotajs.lv