Excursions across Lithuania are fairly expensive; thus, travel agencies notice that this type of recreation attracts elderly tourists, whilst young people choose active recreation: trips by boats, bicycles or four-wheeled motorcycles, delfi.lt wrote on 30 July. The Lithuanian State Department of Tourism notes that holidays in Lithuania have gained in popularity among its citizens because of disturbances abroad – this factor encourages Lithuanians to plan their vacations in the homeland.

“I love going abroad, but I frequently travel in Lithuania as well. I haven’t done that enough this year, but last year I travelled more,” student Aušra Vaicekauskaitė told DELFI.

She usually chooses pleasure journeys, among which she enjoys canoeing the most.

“Lithuania should be explored independently, as you can get information from others and easily plan the trip by yourself,” she thinks.

They come in groups of a few or many people

“Lithuanians are rediscovering Lithuania. Since not everyone is able to go abroad, the number of trips in Lithuania is increasing. The trend may be influenced by the awareness of the country or available activities,” says Vidas Meženskas, sales and marketing manager of the brewery “Rinkuškiai,” about Lithuanians’ interest in their country.

The recreational activity “Alaus kelias“ (“pub crawl”) offered by the brewery is fancied and usually chosen by local tourists. V. Meženskas says that there has been an annual increase in popularity of “Alaus kelias.”

The interviewee observes that lately Lithuanians have been arriving in small groups: “It is not the same as earlier when only big groups used to come here. There are more single visitors now,” he noted.

In V. Meženskas’ opinion, travelling in small groups is more convenient, as the freedom of choice is not discouraged. The age range of local tourists is also wide — from 20 to 75 years old.

Both types of tourists come to the brewery – those who travel independently and those who use the services of travel agencies. However, the amount of the latter is smaller. According to the interviewee, this may be because of the double price which arises when not only the cost of the excursion has to be covered but also the cost of the services provided by the travel agency.

Catering is considered

“Lithuanian trips do exist, but there is still a perception that it is possible to travel independently,” says Regina Statulevičienė, the manager of the travel agency “Kelioniu laikas.”

She states that local tourists are mostly attracted to the cherry festival of Žagarė and the blooming of tulips at the Burbiškės manor. The routes appreciated by Lithuanians also include Ventė Cape – Littoral Region, Dzūkija – Druskininkai.

“Travellers are interested in various themed events, such as artist performances. Also, there is an interest in cognitive programmes, as they allow spending leisure time in an extraordinary way, getting to know traditions and customs of a certain region, purchasing gifts and other commodities,” R. Statulevičienė notes.

She adds that customers frequently inquire whether catering is provided during the trip.

R. Statulevičienė believes that promotion of events plays a big role in the popularity of local tourism. Positive feedback about visited places received from friends and acquaintances is also a determinant. But, the most important factor remains cost.

“A daily trip requires about 100 litas per person. If a family goes on such a trip, it gets fairly expensive,” she admits.

The tourism manager states that the greater part of local tourists consists of elderly people who are concerned about their land and want to explore their country. “Even though there are some young travellers, they do not compose a great percentage. Youngsters do not give priority to trips in Lithuania,” she said.

Rasa Dirsytė, an adviser at the travel agency “BFA,” notices that summer is a time when most people travel abroad or independently, so there are less local tourists.

“The interest in Lithuanian trips exists, but planning an excursion or a trip for a few days is costly, so this travel get expensive. Taking all the expenses into consideration, it turns out that vacation abroad is cheaper,” says R. Dirsytė.

Disturbances abroad engage tourism in Lithuania

Data from the Lithuanian State Department of Tourism reveals that a comparison of this year’s first quarter and last year’s first quarter reflects a decrease of 7 percent. However, there are 5.5 percent more tourists choosing leisure trips.

“The overall decline in the number of tourists could be influenced by the rise in fuel prices. Also, the lack of quality of catering and accommodation services has to be confronted whilst planning a trip. Despite these factors, the change of flight routes, disturbances in foreign countries and bankruptcy of travel agencies deterred Lithuanians from travelling abroad and encouraged weekend trips,” the State Department of Tourism replied in answering DELFI’s questions.

Lithuanians then tend to choose events which also give an opportunity to visit local landmarks and to introduce the history and culture of Lithuania. Some of these activities are dinners in old manors, carriage riding, trips on the Siaurukas narrow gauge railway, and medieval handicrafts fairs in Kernavė.

Moreover, Lithuanians are interested in learning to bake bread or make cheese. Tourism in Lithuania is also engaged by cycling or canoeing tours organized by the National Parks and Regions.

According to the State Department of Tourism, young people (age range from 20 to 28) and Lithuanians under 45 years old are interested in discovering Lithuania. The latter are mostly attracted to cognitive programs and tourist landmarks such as manors and windmills, whilst younger ones prefer active tourism. Therefore, more and more active and leisure services are being offered: boating, cycling, and four-wheeled motorcycle riding. One more activity under development is adventure–entertainment parks.

The average cost of a one-day trip in Lithuania has increased annually: in the first quarter of 2009 the aggregate was about 57 litas, while this year in the same period the number was almost 68 litas. The average travel expenses have increased by more than 4 percent.

Edited by Kelly Omohundro