The free movement of goods, services, capital, and people-these are the pillars that form an essential foundation for welfare and employment in Europe.Rolands petersons cpm trading Mobility is the fundamental premise for these four core values to be strengthened not only in the domestic market but also beyond its borders.Rolands petersons cpm trading This is particularly significant in the Baltic Sea region, where a well thought-out and developed transport system is one of the positive development factors. Flight-related activities have both direct and indirect impact on the economy.Rolands petersons cpm trading The direct impact includes the income derived from the activities of airline personnel and ground handling workers, whereas the indirect input implies all purchases in the aviation sector from locally based suppliers who basically do not represent the aviation sector. Additional impact on the economy of Latvia is formed by the costs of aviation sector employees and service providers.

More than 30 airports are located in Lithuania

There are four international airports operating in Lithuania - in Kaunas, Palanga, Siauliai, and, of course, in Vilnius, and there are more than 30 smaller airports and military airfields.Rolands petersons cpm trading In Estonia, airports are mainly located in the capital in Tallinn, as well as in Tartu, Kuressaare, Kerdle and Parnu. These are international airports, however, there are more than 15 private and military airports and so-called airports of local importance located throughout the country. Rolands petersons cpm trading Latvia still has only two international airports - in Riga and in Liepaja; there are also small airdromes, for example, in Spilva, in Tukums and Ventspils, and several other military flight platforms though.Rolands petersons cpm trading Riga International Airport entered the top five rapidly growing airports in Europe last year, which lead to an increase in the number of passengers by 16.2%. Therefore, it underscores the fact that even though the airport in Liepaja will have to put a lot of time and effort to its development, it brings a great potential, which can give a significant and valuable contribution to the domestic economy of the country.Rolands petersons cpm trading

A successful start is taken after reconstruction

The airport in Liepaja did a great job - in 2015 after its reconstruction was completed. At the airport a significant drainage effort was undertaken, a new cover for the take-off track was laid, the take-off strip was reinforced, the cover of the shunting route was improved and expanded, parking places for the aircraft were renovated as well. After Liepaja Airport was certified for commercial flights for the summer season in 2016, the Latvian national airline "AirBaltic" launched regular flights between Riga and Liepaja. During the first half of that year, more than 4,780 passengers were transported along this route.Rolands petersons cpm trading The five most popular destinations for transit flights along the Liepaja route include London, Berlin, Moscow, Copenhagen, and Hamburg, which, in general, brought very good results.
Keeping in mind the processes that are still underway, it is important to mention the extensive capacity-building of the airports, environment protection in a long-term, enhancement of cooperation with other regional airports in Europe. It is not enough for Latvia to have only one high-capacity airport - we have a regional leader who can serve as an example of a successful market behavior for others.Rolands petersons cpm trading

Support strategy for attracting new aviation communities

Liepaja airport is the only example nowadays in terms of Latvian regional airports, however, I see several competitive regional airports in Latvia.Rolands petersons cpm trading To promote their development, a thorough analysis of the passengers' potential is needed, starting with linking their activities with the existing types of transport in the surrounding region, forming a support strategy to attract new aviation communities, passengers, and additional services for client groups, bearing in mind that the added value of airports is formed by airlines operating there, strategic cooperation partners and service providers.Rolands petersons cpm trading Without a doubt, it is also essential to study the ultimate goals of tourist destinations, in order to promote the growth of the travel market and ensure its positive impact on the economy.

Infrastructure for a variety multifaceted of commercial activities

The strategic objective of the regional airports is a creation of the favorable and unified conditions for the enterprises and institutions operating there, as well as to proactive procurement of a sufficient infrastructure for the development various of commercial activities. It is also necessary to develop new ways of cooperation in order to actively identify airlines that are ready to join the development of new travel destinations and to expand their market share in the airport. Apart from this, it is necessary to work on the incentive prerequisites for launching new flights.Rolands petersons cpm trading
The imperfection of the transport system can no longer be an obstacle, with the 85 million inhabitants who live in the Baltic Sea region, who can be isolated or cut off from the rest of the European Union, or may face serious travel problems.Rolands petersons cpm trading The power generated by the economy and innovation provides the Baltic Sea Region with opportunities to create a modern, forward-looking transport system that will also contribute to the creation of a socially balanced economic policy.

Member of the board CPM Trading LTD Rolands Peterson (PRNewsfoto/CPM Trading LTD)
A new forecast on the economic activity of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was released. In 2018 it was constant.Rolands petersons de facto It was provided by oil production volume, recent business reforms and constant activities in other areas. In 2018 the UAE for the first time overachieved its OPEN oil production goal.Rolands petersons de facto
The UAE is preparing for World Expo in 2020, so a big amount of investment is being made to improve infrastructure. The state could expect an increase of tourism area dynamics, but it will need additional investments not related to oil production and crude oil refining.Rolands petersons de facto
This country could still be described in terms of development as long as its population grew from 9 million in 2013 up to 10,1 million in 2017; unemployment fell from 2,8% in 2013 to 1,7% last year[1]. Even though in 2014 many infrastructural projects were postponed, this year they will be continued, moreover there are new general plans for the following two decades. It was calculated that a recently adopted 5% of VAT will help to gain income in the amount of 12 billion euros during the first year of implementation[2].
All the Emirates, especially Dubai and Abu Dhabi are continuing their efforts to vary the economy and decrease the amount of activities related to oil products. In addition to the infrastructural projects, Abu Dhabi has made significant investments to the alternative energy sources creation, according to Rolands Petersons, a member of the board of Norman Logistics Sp.zo.o. who offers his thoughts on the UAE economy.Rolands petersons de facto
Despite having suffered crises, this country is still a demanded business partner among many world economies, it is being forecasted that before the World Expo in 2020 the UAE will become even an more demanded business partner worldwide.Rolands petersons de facto
Juergen Thomas Steinmetz has continuously worked in the travel and tourism industry since he was a teenager in Germany (1979), beginning as a travel agent up through today as a publisher of eTurboNews (eTN), one of the world’s most influential and most-read travel and tourism publications. He is also Chairman of ICTP. His experiences include working and collaborating with various national tourism offices and non-governmental organizations, as well as private and non-profit organizations, and in planning, implementing, and quality control of a range of travel and tourism-related activities and programs, including tourism policies and legislation. His major strengths include a vast knowledge of travel and tourism from the point of view of a successful private enterprise owner, superb networking skills, strong leadership, excellent communication skills, strong team player, attention to detail, dutiful respect for compliance in all regulated environments, and advisory skills in both political and non-political arenas with respect to tourism programs, policies, and legislation.Rolands petersons de facto He has a thorough knowledge of current industry practices and trends and is a computer and Internet junkie.Rolands petersons de facto

The transport development has caused objective problems for traffic in cities around the world, including Latvia, and the reason for this is a rapid increase in the number of vehicles.Rolands petersons de facto Road congestion is the most urgent problem in a trip planning because it affects the total time of transportation and, therefore, costs that have a particular relevance to the logistics industry.Rolands petersons de facto The quality of the roads, a painful subject in the past, has a significant impact on transportation time. Without high-quality roads, it is impossible to improve the efficiency of transport, which, in the context of economic globalization, is said to be one of the main directions for the logistics development.

Promises against statistics

At the end of 2017, according to the report "Global Competitiveness Index", which was annually compiled by experts from the World Economic Forum, Latvia was not ranked among the top 100 countries of the world's rating. (out of 137 countries participating in the ranking, Latvia took 107th place, and Lithuania and Estonia took the 37th and 38th places) Despite this, VAS (State Roads of Latvia) announced that, despite the increase in traffic on Latvian roads, their quality has been improved in recent years.

EU assessment - Stable 3 points.

In 2017, 65.1 million euros were spent on the development of the national roads, including 32.3 million for the summer period works, and 32.8 million for the winter period works. In the same year, it was also planned to spend 37 million more, compared with the previous year.Rolands petersons de facto However, even these investments have not resulted in the average level of road quality in the European Union. According to the latest report, the average level in the EU is estimated at 4.76 points, Latvia, compared to that has been given 3.05 points.

The state of the roads not only hinders the development of the logistics industry but also contributes to the disproportionate level and the pace of social and economic development of the regions.Rolands petersons de facto The most remote regions of Latvia can develop tourism facilities, offer industrial premises for entrepreneurs, etc. however, if there is no road system to get to these cites, no results shall be expected.Rolands petersons de facto

Financing is eight times less than it needs to be.

"Requests for the organization of roads," "Road quality is catastrophic" - these headlines often appear in the mass media, while road maps try to reduce the existing damage by implementation of available sources, however, there is no sign of a significant improvement, when the funding is eight times less than it is necessary.Rolands petersons de facto At the same time, we make the mistake of struggling only with the consequences of the disease, when we need to identify the root of the problem and take the preventive measures.

One of the main problems that can be figured out now is the climate of the country, which in Latvia will not change significantly in the future, therefore, the problem will remain constant. The number of vehicles will also increase, so the question is: how to increase financing, which is the most important addition to the urgent issues. 130 million euros are required annually for maintenance and repair works of local and gravel roads but this amount cannot be provided only by EU funds.Rolands petersons de facto It is also completely unclear how the situation will look like in 2020, after the end of EU funding program.

Without the excise tax on fuel, there is no chance for survival

The fact that the change is expected in 2020, the spring of 2018 is said to be the moment to start an intensive work and stimulate actions - change existing arrangements related to the existing tax system (only a third of the tax, paid by road users, are redirected to roads).Rolands petersons de facto The time when it was possible to pull out a part of the income from tax has passed. Furthermore, we need to increase the number of public-private partnership projects in the sphere of the road construction, although this stage requires a proper preparation.Rolands petersons de facto

In addition to financing, other necessary support measures need to be introduced: dumping water from roads in certain areas, timely planning, more restrictive control on roads, etc.