Riga – the right choice for association meetings and congresses

When seeking where to host the next open association congress or conference, organisers often opt for destinations with subvention and support systems without considering the cost of participation for each delegate. In Riga, delegates can benefit from very reasonable room rates during conference season from October to May. The competitive overall costs of hosting an event in Riga plus the added perk for individuals make for a very interesting deal.

Thanks to over 80 direct flight connections via AirBaltic, Lufthansa, Finnair and other trusted airlines, Riga is perfectly accessible from destinations worldwide, so it is no problem flying in and attract a truly international group of attendees. Flight time from Frankfurt is just 2 hours 5 minutes, and 2 hours 15 minutes from Amsterdam. Riga sits conveniently between the East and the West.

Besides, Riga has the added bonus of being a relative newcomer to the association conference and congress scene. Delegates may choose to attend for the destination alone. With plenty to do in the city for both delegates and accompanying persons, we suggest to ad an extension to the meeting or congress and stay to explore Riga Central Market, indulge in an affordable spa day or attend a world class opera performance for as little as 10 EUR!

Hotel rates include breakfast, VAT and free WiFi

It’s standard practice for Riga room rates to include breakfast, high speed wifi and all taxes. Many hotels are within walking distance of Riga’s major attractions, transport hubs and venues. Most properties are new or recently renovated and many, such as the Grand Poet Hotel, Pulman Riga Old Town Hotel and Grand Hotel Kempinski Riga, are located in historical buildings.

Recent additions to the Riga hotel scene are the Park Inn Riga Valdemara just across the bridge from the old town and conveniently located between two university campuses. The AC Hotel by Marriott Riga took over a building in the heart of Riga’s Art Nouveau quarter within walking distance to a new great venue for events of all kinds — the Hanzas Perons, a former Riga cargo railway warehouse in New Hanza neighbourhood (very close to the city centre — only about 10 minutes walking distance), which has been rebuilt into a contemporary space with an industrial character and opened recently. A new congress centre is planned to open soon – you can find more information here.

AC Marriott view from Meeting Rooms @tmfdialogue

The Hilton Garden Inn Riga Old Town sits next to Riga’s most photographed building – the House of Black Heads. All in all, Riga offers 13500 beds and 350 meeting rooms in all sizes, choices are in the range of small executive meetings to large scale congresses with a few thousand delegates.Most 4-star properties in the city are familiar and have experience with compliance and regulations for healthcare events.

Benefit from local expertise

Being the largest city in the Baltics, Riga is home to some of the region’s top universities with many students from around the globe taking their education there. The University of Latvia is currently developing a state-of-the-art campus with two buildings already open and available for hosting events. This is just a ten minute drive from the city centre and most major hotels. Riga Technical University benefits from a superb location on Ķīpsala island between the old town and the airport. Right next to it is the biggest specialised exhibition complex in the Baltics. Handy!

Latvia’s universities prepare specialists in numerous fields from languages to engineering, so organisers can also tap into the local pool of academics to source speakers, experts and local hosts.

Getting the help you need to organise your event in Riga

Should you need a helping hand, MEET RĪGA can serve as your first port of call when considering Riga as a host destination for your association congress or conference, providing free-of-charge advice on venue and supplier selection, local DMCs and PCOs and academic resources. MEET RĪGA is a member of the ICCA. Let us know about your upcoming conference or congress to be featured in the Meetriga.com events calendar and raise additional awareness for your event.