Tourism Law in Europe

Latvian Tourism Policy and Tourism Law Alona Rogale-Homika 1 Marina Gunare 2 1. Introduction; 2. Structure; 3. Latvia’s Tourism Development Policy; 4. Latvian Tourism Law; 5. Conclusion; Bibliography. 1. Introduction Tourism in Latvia is one of the country’s opportunities for economic development and service sector priorities, as it is “an important source of export income”, which provides a significant contribution to the country’s GDP. After joining the EU, Latvia experienced a period of rapid tourism development, followed by one of rapid economic decline, which, correspondingly, harmed on tourism development. In 2011, Latvian tourism started to grow once more, with a secure existence and sustainable development of tourism only possible with proper legal support. The recent years’ legal innovations have, in general, positively influenced the situation in Latvian tourism. Accordingly, the minimum guarantees for the protection of the tourists’ rights have been provided, including collateral for tour operators and related service providers for default or improper performance due to liquidity problems, as well as obligatory licensing of tourism service providers and a unified database for tourism service providers. Moreover, the procedure for the preparation and provision of complex and related tourism services is regulated by the Consumer Rights Protection Centre (Consumer Rights Protection Centre, 2015). 1 Master of Arts in Tourism Management; Doctorate student in Regional Economics and Economic policy; Baltic International Academy ; rogale.alona@gmail.com. 2 Prof., Dr.sc.pol.; Head of Tourism Department; Baltic International Academy ; marina.gunare@gmail.com.