The Riga Investment and Tourism Agency (RITA) is participating in the JEWELS Tours project (JEWish hEritage as Leverage for Sustainable TOURism), which is being implemented within the INTERREG programme.
The main goal of the project is to promote sustainable and inclusive tourism in Europe through cooperation between the Ferrara Municipality (Italy), Breda University of Applied Sciences (Netherland), Ośrodek "Brama Grodzka - Teatr NN” together with Lublin Municipality (Poland), Coimbra Municipality (Portugal), City of Erfurt (Germany) and Regional Development Agency of Lviv Region (Ukraine). The focus is on highlighting lesser-known but culturally and historically significant sites—the so-called "hidden gems" (English: jewels).
RITA’s participation in this project is essential for the development of Riga as a tourism destination, with a particular focus on:
- Developing thematic tourism routes that include not only central Riga but also unusual and authentic attractions in the nearby area related to the history of the Jewish community in Latvia;
- Advancing digital tourism tools to improve access to information about these lesser-known destinations;
- Fostering international cooperation by exchanging experiences and best practices with other project partners across different European regions, promoting multi-day tourism and increasing the length of stay;
- Adhering to principles of environmental and social sustainability in tourism development by promoting local Jewish community culture, reducing the burden of mass tourism, and encouraging balanced regional development.
The project provides Riga with the opportunity to position itself not only as a tourist destination for a new target audience but also to collaborate with other participating destinations across Europe.
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