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The Christmas Battles of the First World War are etched in Latvian history as a tragic yet heroic tale. According to the old style, or Julian calendar, the attack on the German Imperial Army began on 23rd December 1916, on the eve of Christmas. These battles, in which all Latvian rifleman regiments participated for the first time, became known as the "Christmas Battles". The Christmas Battles and the subsequent January Battles were the most tragic yet also one of the most heroic chapters in the history of the Latvian riflemen. The Latvian riflemen achieved what no Russian unit had managed on the Riga front – breaking through the German defences and capturing an area of approximately 30 square kilometres. During the Christmas Battles, both Russian and Latvian forces suffered heavy losses, with the Latvian losses measured in the thousands. These significant casualties severely undermined the loyalty of the Latvians to the Russian Empire's authorities and marked a turning point in both the history of the riflemen and Latvia. The riflemen's fight is depicted in Aleksandrs Grīns' novel and the 2019 film adaptation, Blizzard of Souls ("Dvēseļu putenis").

>>> Program

For more information about the Christmas Battles, visit the Military Heritage Tourism website: militaryheritagetourism.info/en/military/topics/view/81

We are pleased to invite you to a pan-Baltic workshop on Integrating Military Heritage into Tourism and History Education, taking place on 10 January 2025 at the Latvian War Museum in Riga, Latvia. This event is part of a joint initiative to expand military heritage tourism across the Baltic countries, uniting Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania to share the collective story of Baltic independence while connecting tourism, education, and military heritage - militaryheritagetourism.info.

>>> Program (PDF)

Please register by December 15, 2024, by filling out the registration form: https://forms.gle/gLkxMZdYPpya8jbH9

The FAM tour is being organized as part of the Baltic Nature Tourism project to promote Latvia and Estonia as nature tourism destinations. The tour will take place from January 28 to 31, allowing participants to explore the Northern Vidzeme region and Estonia's Soomaa National Park.

From November 5th to 7th, representatives from the Baltic Nature Tourism project under the tourism association “Lauku Ceļotājs” were active participants at the "World Travel Market London" tourism exhibition, which attracted visitors and exhibitors from all over the world, with attendance exceeding 40,000.

On October 31 the Baltic Nature Tourism project hosted an online seminar, focused on the latest developments in nature tourism across the Baltics.

On October 31, the Baltic Nature Tourism Project organized an online seminar to discuss the latest achievements in Baltic nature tourism.

on September 25th, 2024 — Adventure Europe, the first B2B online networking event of its kind, successfully brought together adventure tour operators, destination management companies (DMCs), and travel suppliers with buyers from around the world.

On September 4th, we hosted the NAT-TOUR-EXPO Partner’s Meeting in Riga, Latvia. The event brought together all project partners and included virtual participation from Nordic nature tourism experts in the UK. During the meeting, partners shared their recent achievements and outlined their plans for the future.

Currently, the platform features nearly 200 diverse nature tourism products offered by SMEs from Latvia and Estonia. These businesses are actively engaging in specialized training sessions on topics such as photography, sauna rituals, and more to enhance their sales and market presence. In the meeting, partners discussed the latest news in tourism and travel trends and patterns based on the available data. 

Presentation >>> (Asnāte Ziemele, Lauku Ceļotājs, Latvija)

Presentation >>> (Andy Fairburn & Paul Wagner, Nordic Tourism Collective, UK)

Presentation >>> (Elin Priks, Anna Salnikova, Anna Palelione)

Schedule

On June 18th, the third project partner meeting was held in Pärnu, focusing on the involvement of target groups and volunteer activities, as well as the project's achieved goals. On June 19th, a pilot solution for sea access for people with functional impairments was tested on Pärnu beach, making part of the route wheelchair accessible.