The number of foreign travellers visiting Lithuania rose 4.4% last year to 1.5 million, with most visitors coming deliberately rather than passing through and reporting overwhelmingly positive experiences, according to official data and a tourism survey released Tuesday.
About 77% of foreign visitors said Lithuania was their main travel destination, while 90% rated their overall experience positively, according to the State Data Agency and a study by the national tourism promotion agency Lithuania Travel.
“This is a very important message – tourists are coming to Lithuania intentionally, not just because it happens to be on the way,” said Viktorija Stifanovičiūtė, head of research projects at Lithuania Travel, speaking at a news conference. “The overall impression of Lithuania is extremely positive.”
She noted that Lithuania was the sole travel destination for 77% of respondents overall and as many as 96% of travellers from Israel.
According to the survey, visitors were most motivated to choose Lithuania by the desire to try local food and drinks, cited by 78% of respondents, followed by ease of arrival (76%), interest in nature (74%) and local culture (72%).
“Travellers from different countries gave similarly high ratings,” said Lithuania Travel CEO Olga Gončarova in a statement. “Thousands of voices agreed that Lithuania can offer a universally attractive experience – from authentic flavours to wellness services and nature-based recreation.”
The study found that holidays were the main reason for travel for 51% of visitors, while 17% travelled to visit friends and 16% for business purposes.
Lithuania’s use of English was also viewed favourably, with 86% of respondents saying it was easy to communicate in English. About 84% praised the friendliness of residents, and 80% positively rated the quality and accessibility of internet connections.
Nine in 10 respondents said they would recommend Lithuania to other travellers, and the same share said they would like to return.
Foreign tourists stayed an average of four nights. About 30% said they planned to spend between 101 and 300 euros, 23% between 301 and 500 euros, and 17% more than 1,000 euros.
By contrast, domestic travel declined last year, with the number of trips taken by Lithuanian residents falling 3.8% to 2.5 million from 2.6 million in 2024.
The survey was conducted between July and October 2025 among 3,200 foreign tourists from 11 countries.
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