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Discover the Baltics
Summer 2019
Photo: LIAA, Go Vilnius, Visit Estonia, Fotolia
As the Baltics’ reputation as attractive holiday resorts has grown, so has the number of visitors. The sense of novelty is still a trump both in business and leisure tourism that should be played out better
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Looking for a less-travelled, but dynamic, cultural and historically wealthy, and scenic region in Europe? Then visit the Baltics. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have much to offer – both for leisure and business tourists. But how to get travellers excited about going somewhere many have never heard of?
Vilnius ad “G-spot of Europe” in streets of London
in such a devoutly Catholic country. Both the Vilnius Archbishop Gintaras Grusas and former mayor Arturas Zuokas voiced deep concerns that the campaign promotes sex tourism and will attract the wrong kind of tourist to Vilnius, prompted by Western stereotypes about Eastern Europe. Being a little more supportive, Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis named it a „strange advertising choice that does not cross the line in a democratic
Creating a desire for a tempting trio by ALEXANDER WELSCHER
it
was a hard and deep message that really hit the right spot. “Nobody knows where it is but when you find it – it’s amazing!” So goes the playful tagline for the new advertising campaign for Vilnius that declared itself the “G-spot of Europe”. Launched in the summer of 2018, it aims at highlighting the Lithuanian capital as the European continent’s undiscovered treasure and positioning the city as an exciting city-break option, especially for millennials seeking alternative tourism destinations.
Summer 2019
City marketing in Tinderstyle and with a tank
“The campaign’s main idea is that few people know where Vilnius really is, but when they come here, everyone is very satisfied and falls in
The semantic game with sexual metaphors and innuendos continues on the official website. The landing page for vilniusgspot.com invites
people to build a “personal pleasure map” by answering a series of modestly inappropriate questions. This generates tourist destinations presented in cards that one can use to set up the order of matches – following the swipe-to-like dating app Tinder principle. All rightswipes are put on a personal map, so one quickly sees which parts of the city might be interesting for your own journey. Alternatively one can skip the “foreplay” and simply browse through the virtues of Vilnius at one’s own leisure.
Vlad Koriagin, founder and CEO, Baltic Travel Group
Photo: Go Vilnius
“When it comes to attracting the modern tourist, we’re dealing with a very high level of competition with other European cities and countries investing heavily in destination marketing”, explains Inga Romanovskienė, director of the Vilnius Tourism and Business Development Agency Go Vilnius. These are the reasons for the playful approach that targets an increase in the visibility of Vilnius in the United Kingdom and Germany. “To stand out, we need bold and unconventional action.”
The campaign’s main idea is that few people know where Vilnius really is, but when they come here, everyone is very satisfied and falls in love with the city
love with the city”, explains Jurgis Ramanauskas, one of the minds behind the marketing concept. “The idea was born from conversations with foreigners. When you formulate an idea that there’s a place which nobody knows but when they find it, everyone is very happy, the G-spot concept naturally popped up.”
The main element of the titillating campaign has been promotional posters showing a young woman lying on what looks like a crumpled bed sheet printed with a map of Europe, while clutching in apparent ecstasy the area where Vilnius is located. Viral online videos feature tourists experiencing gratifying moments as they stare at the city’s famous landmarks. City trip to Vilnius? Oh, yeeeeeess!
While many embraced the creative campaign that was developed by Ramanauskas and other Lithuanian advertising students and praised their sense of humour, comparing Vilnius with the elusive erogenous zone was not always met with pleasure
country. However, he questioned the timing of the campaign that was launched just weeks ahead of a long-awaited historic visit by Pope Francis to Lithuania. While it was perhaps not surprising that the campaign came under fire from the Catholic church, Zuokas’ critics may raise eyebrows since he was no stranger to provocative city marketing campaigns during his time in office either. In a spectacular initiative to dissuade motorists from parking in cycle lanes, he was filmed crushing illegally parked cars with a tank – sparking a video that went viral on the internet. Zuokas unusual approach to parking violations made him famous way beyond the borders of his home country. It attracted international media attention and has even earned him an Ig Nobel Peace Prize – a humorous US science award.
Attracting attention for out-of-the-way locations Featured in numerous reports by big news outlets worldwide and a famous US late night show, Vilnius’ new G-spot campaign also internationally reached ‘the big O’ and spread across social media at lightning speed. “It really got noticed, which was our goal”, says Romanovskienė. No wonder: sexualized advertising works sometimes more, sometimes less well. But what it definitely creates is attention and not too little of it either. “It is very provocative and it creates a lot a marketing noise which is sometimes needed to put a destination into the mind of potential buyers”. This is how Vlad Koriagin, founder and CEO of the pan-Baltic tourism service provider Baltic Travel Group, applauded the efforts of the city marketing agency to put Vilnius on the mental map of travellers. Representatives of other local travel companies also agree that it is important for Vilnius to be better known in Europe, and that out-ofthe-box-thinking and innovative forms of destination marketing are needed. Whether the “quite questionable campaign”, as Koriagin calls the raunchy and disruptive approach, really makes people want to travel to the city, however, is a different matter – and remains to be seen. Romanovskienė so far seems to be optimistic to achieve this aim – the tourist numbers grew by 12% in 2018. Vilnius is not alone in its struggle for attention – Tallinn and Riga are facing a similar dilemma. Being often overshadowed by other popular travel destinations in Europe,
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the Baltic capitals are still rather unknown and under-the-radar destinations for many travellers – be it for leisure or business. Before Go Vilnius developed and ran its G-spot campaign in Germany and Britain, a survey was carried out in both countries, indicating that only 40 to 50 out of every 1,000 German and British respondents know what Vilnius is or where it is located. The same goes more or less for the whole region: Given the countries’ pocket-sized dimensions and tiny populations, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are more of a quiet hum than a loud bang when it comes to leaving an impression on the international sales market. “We have quite a good level of awareness in Scandinavia, Russia, Germany, Eastern Europe and former Soviet countries, but if we talk about far away markets we are still a terra incognita”, says Koriagin, in reference to travel statistics and personal experiences from his
In line with the rapidly increasing international tourism, the Baltics have seen their visitor numbers steadily rising in recent years. Both inbound and domestic tourism has seen constant growth daily business in attracting tourists to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Even though incoming tourism from distant emerging markets like China and India is growing in the Baltics, the total number of arrivals and overnights is still relatively low compared to the traditional markets. Visiting tourists mainly come from the Baltic Sea region or other European countries nearby. In line with the rapidly increasing international tourism, the Baltics have seen their visitor numbers steadily rising in recent years. Both
KEY FIGURES Baltic travel and tourism industry 2018
Estonia
Latvia
Lithuania
in mn EUR
3,800
2,389.8
2,172.4
in % of total economy
15.2
8.3
4.9
Travel and tourism growth in 2018
3.3
4.3
3.1
Number of jobs
100,900
73,300
65,500
in % of total employment
15.3
8.1
4.8
Expected number of jobs in 2029
119,400
86,000
80,500
Contribution of travel and tourism to GDP
Contribution of travel and tourism to employment
International visitor impact in mn EUR
2,000
952.8
1,275.8
in % of total export
10.9
5.9
3.6
Expected international arrivals for 2019
3.5
2.2
2.7
Rank in the WEF Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index 2017 (out of 136 countries)
37
54
56
inbound and domestic tourism has seen constant growth. Regardless of the differences in the number of arrivals and overnight stays, travel and tourism contribute substantially to the economy of each of the three countries, generating income, wealth and jobs.
Getting the most out of business tourism To capitalize on the continued growth and further raise the number of both inbound and domestic tourists, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are focusing on developing innovative and higher added value tourism products and services, such as the development of medical and health tourism. Recent investment in the tourism sector has been aimed at diversifying tourism attractions and motivating visitors to stay longer or return for another visit to lesser-known regions outside of major cities. To minimize the negative effect of seasonality and increase the expenditure of foreign tourists, another focus is on delivering value for business tourism and the MICE (Meetings Incentives Conventions Exhibitions) industry. “The development of conference tourism is of the utmost importance to the Tourist Board in the coming years because conference tourists spend more than the average tourist in Estonia”, states Margus Sameli, director of the Estonian Tourist Board, in reference to a study commissioned by his agency. “These are active
Baltic branding: Good, bad and blah All three Baltic countries have, in the past, concentrated their forces on presenting a deliberate and coherent nation brand image of themselves to the outside world in order to better compete in tourism and other fields. Following the long-and-wellserving “Welcome to Estonia” logo and slogan that was later added to by another slogan (“Positively surprising”), Estonia introduced a new international brand in 2017. The concept is based on Estonia’s established reputation as a digital pioneer, its smart people, and its nature. Using the logo “Lithuania is a brave country” for almost a decade, the Lithuanian state tourism department came up with the new national tourism brand
people who travel a lot and spread the word among their influential colleagues. And if they like Estonia, they will come back and bring us another income as holidaymakers.” People visiting Estonia for conferences spent an average of €190 per night and €866 per visit to Estonia, not including travel to and from the country, according to the results of a pioneering survey among almost 800 delegates from 20 conferences held in Tallinn and Tartu. The largest share of the sum went to accommodation (38%) and conference participation fees (30%). Another 12% was spent on eating out, 8% on shopping and 11% on other services, such as local transport, tours and entertainment. Conference attendees are thus the biggest spenders among all visitors to Estonia, with the amount spent being
“Lithuania. Real is beautiful” in autumn 2016. Aiming to attract attention and draw more tourists, it caused a similar controversy to Vilnius’ G-spot-campaign. Following a bizarre scandal over the use of stock photos of other countries in its own advertising campaign, Lithuania was widely mocked online and tourism chief Jurgita Kazlauskienė was forced to resign. Compared to its Baltic neighbours, Latvia has clearly been working harder to communicate to the world where and what the country actually is. Formerly advertised as “The land that sings” and the land “Best enjoyed slowly”, it was more recently described as “Magnetic Latvia” and in the latest message to tourists and others is famed as “The Greenovative Country”.
closely connected to the way they travel and the duration of their stay. Tourists arriving by plane typically spend €400 on average, those arriving by boat €300, and people travelling by car some €200, as another survey by Statistics Estonia shows. With three to five nights spent, delegates on average stay longer in Estonia than other visitors, and often enjoy a higher comfort level: They tend to stay in more expensive hotels, eat in higher-priced restaurants and to some extent also participate in other leisure activities, such as day trips and the like. For Latvia and Lithuania, the limited available data indicates a similar picture.
Been there? Done that? Not yet For many conference attendees who travel frequently and in most cases
have already been to the longestablished well-worn conference cities and seen the same old sights, Estonia is a new and yet undiscovered destination. Twothirds of the polled delegates said they had never been to the country before, while 80% said they would consider returning for a vacation. 90% said they would recommend Estonia as a conference venue. “The sense of novelty is still a trump both in business and leisure tourism that should be played out better”, underlines Koriagin, who also chairs the Latvian Convention Bureau. “Nowadays, people are looking for a unique experience and for something special that they would not find anywhere else. They want to get an idea of the culture, history and food of the country they are visiting, and they also want to meet local people. “With the right infrastructure and marketing in place, this trend towards more genuine and authentic experiences offers great opportunities for more incoming tourism in the Baltics, Koriagin is convinced. “We have it all. The only question is how to tell about our value proposition to attract demand.” Coming up with a distinctive tourism slogan that lures travellers is essential. However, to capture the core appeal of a destination and turn it into a punchy catchphrase is a tough task. “Will this tourism ad make people come – literally and metaphorically?”, comedian John Oliver asked when scoffing about the Vilnius G-spot campaign in his US political satire show Last Week Tonight, before giving himself the answer. “Well, no and no respectively. But in a way, it already worked, because do you think we were going to spend time talking about Lithuania tonight if they hadn’t done this? Of course not.”
Source: World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC)
Summer 2019
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Booming but not bursting
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The campaign “Vilnius: the G-spot of Europe” tried to get people hot for Lithuania’s capital. Did it hit the spot or come on too strong? Go Vilnius director Inga Romanovskienė talks to Baltic Business Quarterly about the outcome of the campaign that created mixed emotions in Lithuania. ow effective was the campaign? It was really effective because it stood out as a unique tourism marketing campaign and helped to raise awareness of Vilnius. Google searches of Vilnius increased by more than 300% during the campaign. More than 1,000 positive publications were generated worldwide. The buzz drove people to learn more about Vilnius in the dedicated website vilniusgspot.com. More than 100,000 people visited the website and the majority of visitors were so interested that they took part in the interactive activities on the website which helped them to learn more about Vilnius’ tourism resources. How many visitors were attracted by it? The aim of the campaign, first of all, was to raise awareness of Vilnius as a tourist destination. It takes time and more than one campaign to have a big impact on the actual tourist numbers. However, we are already witnessing a fast growth in the tourist numbers. The growth reached 12% last year. Summer 2019
Hotel and hospitality development on the rise
Tourism is a major economic sector in the Baltics. No wonder. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have a warm welcome for almost every visitor and offer holidays without the tourist crowds at other destinations.
“We are open to bold ideas in marketing”
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there is an increasing number of cultural and adventure tours available that are tailored by small local companies passionate about creating a different kind of experience.
What was the overall resonance to the campaign? Internal debate about this campaign in Lithuania was more heated than abroad, which is natural when it comes to promoting a city or country. Everyone is entitled to express their opinion, and we are glad that discussions are taking place. The campaign went viral all over the world – from Europe to India to South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. The response to the campaign abroad has been positive, praising it as “bold” and as one which stands out from other campaigns in the field. Most importantly for us, it really got noticed, which was our goal. Would you consider the campaign successful? For sure. So you will continue or repeat it? We are open to bold ideas in marketing, soI advise you to follow our activities and you should see some interesting developments. ALEXANDER WELSCHER
hen midsummer approaches and the days extend longer into the night, it is not only the locals who are left feeling enchanted in the Baltics. Every year, the sunny season also lures more and more tourists to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The beauty of these three states is no longer a hidden gem – the tourism sector recently had several record years in a row following a solid rise in the number of foreign tourists to the Baltic nations since their accession to EU in 2004. Joining the Schengen zone and adopting the euro as currency made travelling even easier, as does the fact that credit cards are accepted nearly everywhere and English and Russian are widely spoken. As the Baltics’ reputation as attractive holiday resorts has grown, so has the number of visitors. The 7.7 million overnight visitors in the Baltics in 2017 – up 6.8% compared to the previous year – outnumbered the population of the three countries. The growth engines are the capitals Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius with
their vibrant intertwinement of history, architecture and cultural heritage as well as modern and advanced digital societies and a welldeveloped tourist infrastructure. But rural tourism has also become very popular in recent years – both for inbound and domestic travellers. Still, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are not crowded compared to other destinations. The sheer lack of tourist crowds makes them an appealing option for those looking to get off the usual tourist trails in Europe. Due to their low population density and scenic landscape, they are green and clean destinations for eco-tourism and ethical trips for enjoying cultural wealth, natural splendours and delightful cities. The growing promotion of rural destinations has led to the development of more opportunities for focusing on nature-based tourism, wilderness areas and outdoor activities. Besides the standard massmarket package tours in one Baltic state or through all three of them,
KEY FIGURES Inbound tourism 2017 Total number of arrivals (in thousands) Total travel expenditures (in mn USD) Average length of stay in hotels and similar establishments (in nights) Source: UNWTO
Estonia 6,147 1,636
Latvia 7,726 887
Lithuania 5,590 1,306
1.88
1.79
1.90
Booming tourism has also driven the construction of new hotels. The major international chains have now all come to the Baltics and the competition in the market is beginning to heat up. Similarly, the impact of sharing economy services such as Airbnb has gained momentum in recent years. With several new hotels to open in Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius in 2019 and beyond, the accommodation landscape will continue to grow, making the Baltic capitals more competitive as a meetings and events destination. In combination with more attention and training to service level requirements, the hospitality industry has blossomed. The Baltics boast a wide range of restaurants offering fine international cuisine and rich culinary experiences from all corners of the globe. Activities such as medical and wellness treatments or shopping are also in much demand, especially from tourists from the neighbouring countries and Scandinavia. Still, starting prices for accommodation and restaurants have remained moderate compared to other European destinations, making the Baltics especially attractive to budget-minded Western Europeans, while high-end tourists from Russia and elsewhere can also sleep in comfort. Although Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are certainly no longer the bargain they once were a few years ago, the Baltics still offer relatively good value for money.
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Product development and more marketing needed Across the Baltics, seasonality plays a major role in tourism. For travel agencies, tour operators, hotels and restaurants, the busiest time of the year is the summer period – from May to the end of September. This leads to fluctuations in business turnover. In Latvia, the average occupancy rate in the low season falls to 30%, while in the high season it can reach 60-80%. The Baltic tourism industry is therefore working on reducing seasonal imbalance in tourist flows and creating yearround business by making use of existing trends in tourism. Another challenge is the need to strengthen productivity and innovation in the tourism sector in order to raise the overall competitiveness of the destinations. While price competitiveness is still a strength, the Baltics are lagging behind in other areas in the Tourism Competitiveness Index of the World Economic Forum.
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The Baltics are delivering value for business tourism. Both events and congresses as well as incentive trips or product launches can be organized more cheaply than elsewhere. But there is more business out there.
in
line with the general tourism growth, the number of business visitors has been steadily on the rise in the Baltic states. The MICE (Meetings Incentives Conventions Exhibitions) sector has been thriving in recent years, boosted by major investment in tourism infrastructure, the refurbishment of historical and cultural sites, and the opening of hotels and modern conference venues. The Baltic agency scene is also completely developed, with Destination Management Companies (DMC), Professional Conference Organizers (PCO) and event agencies capable of organizing the most demanding events. In the recent past , the Baltic states had considerable success in raising their profile with political and cultural events. Their Presidencies of the Council of the European Union and previous tenures of Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius as European Capitals of Culture brought great publicity and foreign guests from EU member states and institutions. Only last year, the centenaries were celebrated with a wide range of events in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Major strengths of the industry are seen in the various meeting and event facilities for all kinds of
budgets and needs, the conveniently short distances within the countries and the compact layout of Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius – with major hotels, event venues, sights, restaurants and shopping facilities often being concentrated within walking distance. The airports are just a few kilometres away from the city centres, and serene coastal and forest areas for events with outdoor adventures or nature activities are also easily reachable.
matters. This can be seen in the latest report from the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) where the Nordic capitals and other traditional meeting destinations still rank well above the Baltics and their capitals. But also convention cities in other Central and Eastern European countries are higher positioned in the ranking.
Competitive hotspots for meetings
The Baltic capitals have their own strengths and weaknesses in hosting
Considering the different price levels to Western countries and also within the Baltic sea region, the Baltics are still destinations with good value for money – some players in the MICE sector even promote them as ‘affordable Scandinavia’. Being very green, clean and environmentallyfriendly is another outstanding feature of the safe and secure environment compared to other destinations, according to tourism experts and benchmarking studies. Organising a conference in Tallinn, Riga or Vilnius might be cheaper than doing so in London, Berlin or Paris, but it is not only cost that
and MICE. While Tallinn benefits from a more focused destination marketing based on a clear and wellpositioned image of Estonia, Riga has the best connectivity and general infrastructure in terms of available hotel and conference facilities. In turn, Vilnius gained a competitive edge by annually hosting Convene, one of the leading exhibitions and meeting points for MICE industry players in the Baltic Sea region, according to tourism experts.
Different strengths, common challenges
One of most important common challenges in the field of conference tourism is seen in the construction
KEY FIGURES The Baltics as meeting destination in 2017
Photo: Shutterstock
Despite the increasing number of incoming tourists, the awareness of the Baltics remains low in Western and Southern European countries in benchmark studies, pointing to an ongoing need to promote Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania as an alternative to more traditional destinations. Promotional activities should also be targeted towards further away markets such as China and other Asian countries, and at best carried out in co-operation with other Baltic countries and Nordic neighbours, according to tourism experts. To be able to exploit the opportunities in all continents, further action has been taken to improve accessibility and connectivity to the Baltics.
The business of business travel
Estonia
Number Position Position of meetings in the EU ranking in the Global ranking 68 24 27
Tallinn
46
25
50
Tartu
22
67
119
Latvia
36
31
60
Riga
32
47
84
Lithuania 47 37 Vilnius
28
53
35
68
6
71
358
Kaunas
The ICCA includes only international gatherings organized by associations that are attended by at least 50 participants, take place on a regular basis (one-time events are not included) and move between at least three different countries. Source: International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA)
of state-of-the art multi-functional conference centres for big conventions. According to MICE industry representatives, many more events could take place in the Baltics if there were larger facilities with seating for 3,000 attendees and additional breakout meetings all under one roof. Larger meeting venues such as big sports halls and exhibition centres are the only option so far to host big events, but they are lacking in catering facilities or nearby hotels and restaurants that can cater for large groups. Other areas where experts see room for improvement include the development of better air connections to key commercial capitals and hub cities, while others put their hope in the Rail Baltica high-speed rail link that will make the Baltic states easier to reach in the future. To meet client requirements, promote the destinations better and improve the quality of service, other MICE professionals call for more collaboration at both national and international level. What is needed is a more strategic and sustainable marketing approach to position and develop the Baltic MICE industry – all the more since the sector feels the impact of the growing labour market shortages.
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Need to tell stories
by ANDREJS MĒTERS
The Baltics are the hidden secret of Europe, says Žydrė Gavelienė, President of the Lithuanian National Tourism Business Association, Director of Estravel American Express TRS. When she asks people about expectations before travelling to the Baltics, they usually give the same answer, but in different ways - no expectations at all. “After the visit they are amazed with everything - be it food, nature, lifestyle, nightlife, people. Everything is beautiful”
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hat is the image of the Baltic states as a tourism destination in the eyes of foreign tourists from Western Europe? I’m not sure that if there’s any image at all. There are pieces of images, made by Latvia, by Estonia or by Lithuania, or by tourism businesses themselves. This is the best description of how travellers see the Baltics.I have seen a lot of research about what travellers think about the Baltics. There are so many different opinions. One of them I like the most - when people are coming to the Baltics they are impressed. They are surprised at what kind of people live here - very friendly. Everything food, nature, lifestyle - is very nice.
Who should do it - government, tourism companies ... ? That is a very good question. Every citizen should do it, should promote their country. We are the brand of the country. Every day. Whether we like it or not. But definitely the main responsibility to attract investors, to attract people, to export more is a governmental thing. In Lithuania the problem is poor cooperation caused by the lack of financial resources.
Why do you think it is that they don’t know much about the Baltics before they travel here? Is it a lack of information and lack of effort to make these countries more popular in Europe? Yes. Nowadays tourism is like fast moving goods. Everybody is trying to promote their country. To compete with other countries is not so easy. But the answer is definitely a lack of resources, human resources, money and ideas on how to promote it in a wise way to reach the target - travellers who would enjoy travelling to the Baltics.
Some time ago, in the 90s, countries used to advertise themselves on international TV, like CNN... I’m not sure that it was only in the 90s. Some of them are still there, some countries are still doing it. Using the support of CNN, if you have enough money, is a very good idea. But it is not the main and most attractive way to invite travellers to come to the Baltic states. Nowadays people are looking on the internet. They are looking for the people - people are coming to get to know the people. And I would say the main idea is to promote destinations for people.
Photo: Mindaugas Mikulėnas
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So the main problem is money? Money. And the usage of it is not so great. I do believe that advertising is storytelling. And the story has its beginning and never ends. This is the best story.
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We have to do more. Not only governments, but also business, everybody - we need to do more. And of course we have to look deep into ourselves - how we are going to translate who we are, what kind of things we are going to say to the world. Sometimes it looks like everybody is doing their own part, but there’s no common strategy. I would say we have the same situation in all three countries. It’s not only about Latvia. Lithuanians are looking at Latvia, thinking that they are really better. And Estonians are looking the same way at Lithuanians. This is so us [laughs]. Looking from the worldwide perspective, we are so small - we need all three countries to do it together. Why? Because we have the same nature, we have nearly the same food, we are smart people. We all need to do it together, this is our strength. That was my next question. We in the Baltics see each other
differently. But do people from outside see us as different countries and people? If we are looking from the perspective of Vilnius - yes Latvians are different. But if I am sitting in Singapore there’s no difference. Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania are Baltic countries, And it is even easier to talk about ourselves - we are the opposite side of the Baltic Sea to Scandinavia. This is the best way to promote. And thank God people around the world already know some Lithuanians, Latvians and Estonians. I am glad that there are so many smart people. And this is the way to promote these countries. So would it be better if all three Baltic countries could make one strategy to promote the whole region? If we are thinking not about Europe, but other parts of the world, other continents, the answer is Yes. There’s no other solution. Either we have these three together, or Lithuania has to go together with Poland and Germany, Estonia with
Scandinavia, but we are too small to be attractive enough to bring the travellers. And we do not have such a good or big infrastructure to attract the whole world. We have to know what story we are telling and what expectations we are raising. When people come to the Baltics, do they travel through all three countries, or would they like to travel all three countries because the area is not so big? It depends. There are people, of course, who are coming for their whole holiday. And they are starting either from Vilnius or Tallinn, or maybe even from Poland, HelsinkI or Stockholm. But there are, of course, people who are coming for city breaks, for the weekend to Vilnius, Kaunas, Riga, Tallinn. This is a different kind of traveller. And definitely the most important thing is that we must not forget about our ports, cruises. Usually for cruise travellers, it is the first time they are stepping onto Lithuanian, Estonian or Latvian land. We have to treat them very well - this is our chance for them to come back next time, maybe for a longer holiday. Do regions in Europe compete amongst each other? Heavily!!! Heavily, heavily! And nowadays we know that every tenth person is working in the tourism industry or other related industry in the world. And it is the most important and the biggest value creating industry. Countries definitely do compete. Just recently I was in the Maldives and met the Sri Lankan ambassador there. They are competing between themselves. And in the Baltics it is the same - we still believe that we have to compete with each other. In my opinion, the best idea would be to take the bravest and smartest people and to delegate them to do the marketing for all three countries.
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When people are coming to the Baltics they are impressed. They are surprised at what kind of people live here - very friendly. Everything - food, nature, lifestyle - is very nice. As a region, does the Baltic region compete with other regions in Europe, for example, Croatia, the Balkans, which similar to the Baltics are relatively unknown in Western Europe? We are quite competitive with the Balkans. ActuallyI would say we are competitive if we are comparing ourselves with the Balkans. But if we are comparing ourselves to Slovenia, there are so many things to be done. We need to do many things, but first of all we need to agree on how we are promoting ourselves. The best idea, asI already mentioned, is through people. People are traditions, people are new ideas, people are everything because people are different. They are changing expectations and experiences. One of the images is that the Baltics are Tallinn, Vilnius, Riga, maybe Klaipeda, Jūrmala.
I’m happy that people have knowledge of three cities or five cities or maybe even Tartu, Liepāja. But usually yes, they only know the capitals.I totally do not agree that Vilnius, Riga or Tallinn are the most important. There are so many nice places in Lithuania as well in Latvia and Estonia. Last yearI was in Daugavpils, where there is the Mark Rothko museum, which is a wonderful place. Or Saaremaa, an island in Estonia. These are just as amazing places. And for slow travelling, the Baltics are the best countries to get to know, to explore and to treat yourself very well. We have very nice food, we have amazing SPAs. We have clean nature, we have forests. And of course vibrant cities.I mean capitals. And second cities with culture, history, everything. So we just need to talk about it. Isn’t it the case that one of the reasons why people only
know the capitals is the poor infrastructure for transportation across the countries for tourists? It’s not so bad. You can travel by bus, car, air, bicycle. But rail would definitely solve so many problems. If we were to have a connection from Vilnius to Riga in two hours,I would never take a flight. It is one hour to the airport, waiting and flying - one hour, another hour getting from the airport. Even I’m no longer travelling from Vilnius to Klaipeda by car. ThereforeI still have four hours to enjoy myself, for example, to read. For tourism in the Baltics, a proper rail connection would definitely be a big advantage - to have a real link between the capitals. About hotels. Every year we have world-known hotel brands coming to Vilnius, to Riga.. Kempinski, Hilton, others. Yes, I’m happy about this. In Lithuania we
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didn’t have new hotels for quite a long time. And recently, last year the number of rooms in Vilnius doubled. We see that hotels are doing very well. This proves that Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn are new destinations for Europeans. For people who travel, hotels are one factor, but to have more reasons to travel, to exploit them in the best way, we definitely need to advertise ourselves.
There are three aspects of pleasure in travelling. One aspect of pleasure is to plan your trip, another is to travel and then to look at the photos and to remember the trip. With such a big increase in recent years isn’t the accommodation market full? Is there still room for new brands, new hotels? What about niches like premium or low budget? I would say in all three countries we are now balancing in order not to be too expensive. We have the capacity, but there are some days when conferences, festivals, other events take place and everything is fully booked. And those days are very expensive. Like everywhere in the world. This means we still have a possibility for new hotels and accommodation facilities. With such rapid growth, are there enough qualified people for the tourism sector? A lack of people is not only a problem for tourism, and not only in the Baltic states. But in Lithuania for example, tourism education is thriving. We are cooperating with some colleges and universities. The thing is that in tourism everything changes very quickly. It is quite difficult for schools to adapt to the changes.
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Another thing is that smart people are getting educated and then leave for higher salaries in other countries. This is really a challenge. Even though the quality of service here is at the highest level. For example restaurants -I would say even in London and Paris they would enjoy and envy the service and food that we have here in our restaurants. Somehow they managed to do this. Take our company Estravel. We are the biggest in the Baltics. Of course we need talented people, but we have them as well. We treat our people well. And those who treat their people well attract more talent. In all three countries there is a wish to become attractive for business tourism, for organising big conferences and other big corporate events. What are the obstacles? The question is - what is a big event? A one thousand person event is not big. It is not a problem, it can be done in all three capitals. But if we speak about 5000, then that is big.I would say we are not aiming for those conferences. There are other cities
which are better suited for this, with better infrastructure. But let’s have smaller conferences! We have so many things to offer and it’s much easier to do all the logistics. We don’t have to aim to have all the biggest conferences. It’s not our aim. Let’s have, for example, association meetings here, smaller business conferences. And we are working in this direction. There is the Vilnius Convention Bureau, Go Vilnius, Riga Convention Bureau, as well in Tallinn. They work really, really well. But we definitely have to understand that we are competing in the market; in a big market.
a lot that is unknown, still something to find to be surprised by. It is also convenient to move around the cities. They are not that big. Disadvantages? I’d guess Tallinn and Vilnius are maybe not so well developed with the air connections. If people are not coming from nearby destinations, it could be an obstacle. ButI hope the future will be bright in this regard. And the improved train connectivity with Rail Baltica will help a lot. It will be possible to have a conference on the train - let’s have breakfast in Vilnius, lunch in Riga and let’s finish the day and dine in Tallinn. Speaking about outgoing tourism.I guess you know what the trends are these days for people in the Baltics - are they travelling to more exotic destinations, planning their trips themselves, etc.? There are three aspects of pleasure in travelling. One aspect of pleasure is
to plan your trip, another is to travel and then to look at the photos and to remember the trip. There are people who are planning by themselves. Those who are experienced travellers go to a travel agent to have someone behind the bookings. Yes, they are choosing everything themselves, but just to be sure everything goes well they let the travel agent do the bookings. WhatI noticed or what we are seeing right now is that more and more travellers are turning back to travel agents. One thing is security and another is knowledge. Our people are doing it 10 hours every day and they definitely have all the necessary information. Another thing is that the age of travellers is broadening. We used to have travellers from the age of 22 to 65. Nowadays we see that it starts from 16 until 75. And the
length and the frequency of travel is expanding.I looked through the numbers andI noticed - people are travelling for longer, and usually for three weekends. They are either combining it with business trips - going to a conference, business meeting and then staying for the weekend, or visiting some relatives. And another trend is that people used to spend Christmas and Easter holidays at home. Now we see that at these times of year people are traveling with friends, relatives, and they’re spending time together instead of sitting at home and doing the dishes. Looking at the numbers - we know that by 2030 the number of travellers will double. So it means a lot a lot of work. This is why every country is heavily investing in tourism infrastructure, hotels and also educating people and telling stories about themselves.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of the Baltics? All the Baltics look the same from the perspective of other countries. All three countries are very smart and they still have hidden secrets. I’m always asking travellers what their expectations are whenI meet them. They usually give the same answer, but in different ways - no expectations at all. After the visit they are amazed with everything - be it food, lifestyle, nightlife, people. Everything is beautiful. They like it. So the advantage is that there is still
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