RIGA — Jūrmala City Council has decided to double the fee for driving into the resort town from 1 to 2 lats as a revenue-boosting measure.

The increased fee will go into effect Jan. 1, and though it will undoubtedly raise the heckles of Rigans who enjoy trekking to Jūrmala for fun and drivers who regularly pass through, city officials say the move was inevitable.

“We should’ve done this years ago when times we’re good,” Jūrmala City Council spokesman Ingmārs Čaklais told Baltic Reports. “Two lats during the good years was less money than 1 lat in 1996.”

He was quick to refute reports that this was a snap decision by lawmakers. “We’ve been considering this for five years. After all the 1 lat fee hasn’t changed since 1996 when Jūrmala first introduced it,” he explained.

If you go by car, sunbathing on Latvia's favorite beach will cost twice as much next summer. Photo by Nathan Greenhalgh.

Čaklais said Jūrmala, whose balmy pine forests and miles of seashore attracts millions of tourists every year, currently takes in 1.4 million lats (€2 million) thanks to the fee. The city hopes to double that will the new fee, though it is confident it will bring in an additional 1 million lats, he said.

Undoubtedly the fee hike will turn away visitors, especially those who like traveling to Jūrmala frequently not just for the summer sun but also to stroll on Jonas Street and dine in one of the restaurants.

“Why should Rigans have to fill the hole in the Jūrmala budget?” Maija Admine of the TezTour agency told the LETA news agency.

But Jūrmala officials don’t think there will be a dramatic fall in visitors. Čaklais said the people who drive to Jūrmala for the beaches will pay the extra lat, while those who have to drive through it every day are likely to alternate their daily routines.

“We keep telling people to register as Jūrmala residents if they want an automobile pass and not have to pay the fee,” said Čaklais.

Jūrmala would benefit from more people registering as residents since, according to Latvian law, a majority of income taxes are paid to the municipal budget. Some lawmakers wanted to raise the fee even higher. Mayor Raimonds Munkevics said in a recent interview that the fee should actually be 4 or 5 lats, but the city would settle for a 2 lat entrance fee.

Many Rigans would probably gladly pay the new fee if the city could do something to reduce the bottlenecks that occur as a result of long-lines at the toll machines. In peak summer hours the wait can last an hour, and not because of the machines themselves — there are plenty, and there are often workers standing next to each one for convenience — but because all the cars must exit the toll area through one lane.