The study concluded that foreign runners and visitors spent 38,120 nights in Riga and the region. At the same time, the “Rimi” Riga Marathon has attracted 4.888 million euros for the accommodation and catering sector in 2024.
The event also provided a significant return to the co-financing of the Riga Municipality – each euro co-financed by the Riga City Council “Rimi” in the Riga Marathon in 2024 brought back 130 euros to the economy of Riga and Pieriga. The Riga City Council allocated EUR 81,060 in co-financing to the marathon in 2024.
33,003 participants took part in the “Rimi” Riga Marathon this year, which is almost the largest group of runners registered in the “Rimi” Riga Marathon in the history of the event. Riga hosted a significant number of foreign participants – 4305 runners from 104 countries, or 60% more than last year. On average, each foreign participant was joined by 1.4 supporters, bringing a total of 5,865 fellow travelers to Riga.
During their stay in Latvia, foreign guests spent an average of 3.75 days here and spent a total of approximately 261 euros per day. Of this amount, 77 euros were spent on accommodation, 64 euros on meals, 49 euros on visits to restaurants and cafes, and 71 euros on shopping and other entertainment.
The most foreign participants visited Riga from Lithuania, Estonia, Germany, Great Britain, Finland, France, Israel, Spain, Poland and Italy.
The study additionally analyzes the impact of visitors to Latvia who live abroad or outside the regions of Riga and Pieriga. The average spending of locals who used accommodation reached 201 euros and 207 euros, which is similar to the expenses of foreign guests.
Last year, the “Rimi” Riga Marathon, together with the World Running Championship, provided a contribution of 11.803 million euros to the economy.
The study was developed by Kehris with the company “KEKonsultācijas” in accordance with international practice, as well as the methodology approved by the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Economy. The results and findings of the economic impact study are based on information obtained by surveying and analyzing marathon participants, fellow riders and visitors.
2024-08-22 15:27:33