Data summarised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on visas issued demonstrate that in December 2009 the number of tourist visas issued by diplomatic and consular representations of the Republic of Latvia in the region of the CIS, covering Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, has increased by 30% if compared to December 2008.

The Embassy of Latvia in Russia saw the highest growth in numbers of tourist visas: by 48% in December 2009, in comparison to December 2008. The numbers of tourist visas issued in December 2009 by the Kaliningrad office of the Consular Division of Latvia's Embassy in Russian Federation have increased by 42%. For this December, the numbers of tourist visas have also grown for the Embassy in Latvia in Ukraine and the Consulate in Vitebsk. The Consulate General in St.Petersburg has given out practically the same number of tourist visas, whereas the numbers have decreased for the Consulate of Latvia in Pskov and the Embassy in Belarus.

In December 2009, in preparation for the active travel season in winter and envisaging an increase in tourist visa applications, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia assigned additional staff to several representations abroad. Six people were sent to the Embassy in Moscow, three – to the Consulate General in St.Petersburg, and one person each to the Embassy in Minsk and the Embassy in Kiev. To ensure due processing of all visa applications, the staff of some of representations worked also during holidays, on 24-25 December. On those days, also visitors were admitted to the Embassy in Moscow and to the Consulate General in St.Petersburg.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs would like to emphasise, that as early as at the beginning of 2009, tourism development and promotion was established as one of the Ministry priorities by laying down more flexible procedures and introducing other significant easements for tourist visas. Currently, if their purpose of entry is tourism, applicants are not required to submit an invitation endorsed by the Office of Citizenship and Migration. On a larger scale, multiple entry visas are issued to trustworthy applicants. To ease the submission of visa applications, from 1 January 2009 onwards our Embassy in Moscow will co-operate with a provider of express mail services, Pony Express. Thus, residents of Russia in 28 cities and regions as well as on seasonal basis in two Pony Express  branches in Moscow will have an opportunity to hand in visa application documents for sending to the Embassy of Latvia in Moscow.