Investments, Latvia, Legislation, LIVE RIGA, Tourism

Altogether, 52 Riga councilmen voted; 33 were in favor, while 19 were against.

Representatives of opposition parties New Era and Civic Union sharply criticized the motion to establish the RDTB, saying that the bill had been pushed through hastily and that the entire process lacked transparency, writes LETA.

Several councilmen expressed doubt about the suitability to the nominated RDTB director, the president of the airline airBaltic, Bertolt Flick.

Three persons were elected to the RTDB board today: Flick, the chairwoman of the company Reho, Vita Jermolovica, (Latvia's First Party/Latvia's Way) and Riga councilman Maksims Tolstojs (Harmony Center).

As reported, RTDB will be responsible for planning and implementing tourism strategy in Riga, its members are the Riga City Council, airBaltic, the Association of Hotels and Restaurants of Latvia, and the Travel Agents Association of Latvia.

70% of RTDB shares belong to the Riga City Council, while the other partners each have 10%.

The organization will employ five people and its administrative costs will not exceed five percent of the project's total budget.

Flick informed that in the near future, around two million lats will be invested in advertising Riga abroad, the funding will come from Riga City Council's budget and from airBaltic, around one million lats from each. The amount of funding will be increased in coming years.