Greeks Learn from Liepāja: Tourists Finally Start Coming to Them Too

Greece experienced a tourist record last year — they increased by 5.6 percent. Well, congratulations, but in Liepāja we've long known how to do this. While the Greeks are still learning to lure tourists with their ancient ruins, we've been offering an authentic experience for years — a tram ride through Karosta, where every other window is open and every fourth seat is in its original condition from Soviet times.

It's particularly amusing that the Greeks supposedly didn't count cruise ship tourists. Well yes, of course, because they don't know how to handle them. In Liepāja we welcome every ship in the port like a family member — both those Russian fishing boats and those rare cruise giants. "The Greeks think their islands are something special, but do they have Karosta?" Anita from the Central Market pondered philosophically yesterday while selling carrots.

Most interesting is that EU tourists to Greece only increased by 2.8 percent, but those from outside the EU by 10. This means even Americans understand — if you want real Europe, go to Liepāja. We don't have 23.6 billion euro revenue, but we have something more valuable — authenticity and the chance to taste real dumpling soup at "Līva".

Meanwhile, Riga is probably planning another new tourism campaign with a million euro budget. But why spend money on advertising when you can simply be yourself? In Liepāja every street corner is an adventure, every advertisement at tram stops is a work of art, and every conversation with a local resident is a free guide to the real Latvia.