In an innovative new partnership, the Latvian Tourism Bureau in London is joining forces with the Riga Information Centre to promote Latvia and its capital city. Both will be present at the Travel and Holiday Show in Glasgow from 23-25 January 2004.

The event takes place at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC) and is Scotland's premier consumer travel show. Latvia will be the only one of the three Baltic States represented at the show.

Last weekend from 16-18 January the Bureau and Riga Information Centre enjoyed a very successful time at the similar Manchester show. Both organisations are keen to reach beyond London to the larger British population to promote Latvia and its capital, Riga, as an exciting new tourism destination.

This is the first time Latvia has been represented at the Glasgow show. Commenting on the shows, Eva Staltmane, Head of the Latvian Tourism Bureau in London said:

"A very successful Manchester exhibition proved that there are thousands of people outside London who are interested in exploring new destinations. I'm sure the same will be true of Glasgow. In fact, given the strong historic ties between Latvia and Scotland, we are anticipating even more enquiries."

The Latvian stand is number 626 and all members of the public will receive a very warm welcome - including a taste of the famous (and potent) Riga Black Balsam drink.

Information about the shows: The Manchester Show was originally launched in 1986 at the G-Mex Centre. The success of the Manchester shows persuaded the organisers in February 1998 to head north and launch a Holiday & Travel Show in Glasgow. That created Scotland's first truly international travel show and almost 50,000 visitors packed the SECC for three days in February 2003. Show exhibitors range from tour operators, travel agents and airlines to tourist information organisations and places of interest. The appeal for visitors is that they are able to talk to the experts about a complete range of holidays and the Travel Talk Theatre offers an in-depth look at many countries of the world. Information about Latvia:

Latvia is one of the eight new countries joining EU in May 2004.

Population: 2325 500 Territory: 64 589 sq km Borders: Lithuania, Estonia, Russia and Belorussia Capital City: Riga (population 725,200) Length of Coastline: 495 km Language: Latvian Religion: Lutheran

Contact: Eva Staltmane, Latvian Tourism Bureau: london@latviatourism.lv +44(0)20 7229 8271 END