ABOUT LATVIAN HEALTH TOURISM CLUSTER
“Latvia Resort Association” was founded in 2008. From April 30, 2021, the legal name of the association “Latvian Resort Association” is renamed and approved to the association “Latvian Health Tourism Cluster”.
Association has three members (Liepaja, Saulkrasti and Sigulda municipalities) and 57 associate members or merchants. It is being developed by successfully cooperating with other Baltic resort associations in Lithuania and Estonia, as well as one of the future plans is to create a successful Baltic cooperation model in health tourism, establishing Baltic Health Tourism cluster.
Goals of the Association:
- Stimulate the development and rebirth of the resorts in the Republic of Latvia;
- Stimulate the process of making and passing of the laws and regulations of the resorts in the Republic of Latvia and to ensure the development of the clean environment of the city resorts;
- Develop and to expand the activities of the city resorts of the Republic of Latvia increasing the values of both culture and nature in the city resorts, the attraction of the people of Latvia, as well as the foreign tourists, in the meantime stimulating the using of health resources of nature for the purpose of recreation and rehabilitation;
- Represent and to defend overall interests of the members of the association in the institutions of the private and public sector, as well as the other organisations of tourism, especially in the field of health tourism in the European Union and other foreign resorts, as well as in other institutions of tourism connected with international organisations;
- Cooperate with Latvian and foreign partners, as well as taking part in the preparation and realization of the international projects in the fields of science, legal , professional, economical, social and culture, in addition to give the opportunity of using all natural remedies in health care.
Criteria for the admission into Association:
- Administrative planning documents should include territories with curative resources that are being, or will be used by resort or tourism industries;
- There should be planned investment projects for the development of resort infrastructure;
- Local municipality has allocated funds for the marketing activities of tourism as well as the development of the resort infrastructure;
- Local municipality gives strong support to entrepreneurs working in resort and tourism industries;
- Local municipality is carrying out events that emphasize environment protection and sustainable practices in resort and tourism industries;
- Curative resources that are being managed by the local municipality should be used in improvement of health, prevention and treatment of disease, as well as in rehabilitation.