Latvia, Markets and Companies, Tourism

Riga

The brochure will provide information on what rules should be observed and what precaution actions should be taken in specific situations, while in Latvia. For example, tourists are suggested to become acquainted with the price list at all bars and clubs before ordering drinks and to pay separately after each order.

The brochure will not specify names of the bars and other recreational places that foreign guests should avoid. However, foreign embassies have been informed about the black-listed establishments, which cheat foreign tourists and they provide specific information about these places to their countries' representatives visiting Latvia, Freimane explains.

The informative brochure will be published in English, Russian, German and French. It will be available at the Riga International Airport, hotels, tourism information centers, embassies and other "key sites", where tourists look for useful information. It is also planned to distribute the brochures at popular attraction sites in Latvia, including Riga Old Town.

LTDA public relations expert, Normunds Kietis, pointed out that sometimes tourists are not honest themselves. There have been cases where tourists thoughtlessly spend their money at clubs and bars and try to gain the money back the next day by claiming that they have been cheated.

As LETA learned from the Press and Culture Department of the United States Embassy in Latvia, the embassy is concerned about the growing number of criminal offences against foreign tourists in Riga's bars, clubs and entertainment sites.

The embassy informs, it has received several complaints from foreign tourists, who have been asked to pay an unreasonable price for drinks at bars. In some cases they were even threatened with physical violence if they refuse to pay the bill.

"The local police has not wanted and has not been able to help, and victims believe that police has even been involved in some of these schemes," the embassy explained.

Th U.S. Embassy in Latvia suggests tourists to avoid visiting "Foxy Lounge", "Roxy Klub", "Groks Pub", "Pink Panther", "Mary", "DD Bars", "Saxon", "Doll House" and "Bar Fly" in Riga.

As reported, last week Riga Police detained three staff members of a club in Riga's Old Town for attempting to extort money from two German citizens.

State Police Riga Region Press and Public Relations Department Senior Officer Edgars Dudko informed LETA that the employees of the club demanded tourists to pay an unreasonably high price for a relatively small purchase and when the German tourists refused to pay the bill, the club's staff members even tried to use violent means.

The police do not specify what kind of purchase the tourists had made, but informed that each of them were asked to pay approximately LVL 150.

A criminal procedure for extortion has been launched. The club's employees were detained.

Similar attempts to cheat foreign visitors have been reported several times in the past few months' time. The biggest number of complaints for being demanded to pay unreasonably high price for drinks, has been received from people, who had visited Riga Old Town's club "Groks", the club has recently been closed down.