[NEWS] Summer in Jelgava: e-boat tourism

Summer in Jelgava: e-boat tourism  

In Jelgava tourism, residents and visitors of the city can use modern and environmentally friendly electric boat, which is offered by Migo City, a tourism service provider that started its activities last summer.

According to the company's co-founder Mārtiņš Gedominskis, at the beginning they were looking for this type of boat in the Chinese market, because there is more choice and prices also tend to be lower. The company's employees had a plan to go to a tourism exhibition in Shanghai, China, which had to be cancelled due to a global pandemic. Mārtiņš says that various electrical goods for tourism can be seen there, such as SUP boards, surfboards, and also catamarans. There is also a wide range of prices - from a few hundred to several thousand. In the website of Chinese manufacturers, they already had an eye on a boat that can fit 12-14 people, but the trip had to be cancelled, so they consulted with like-minded people in Latvia and found out that in Latvia there is a boat builder "Dole Marine", which also develops electric boats. A boat was purchased from this company, which can be used by up to eight people at a time, with a built-in gas grill, table, music equipment, led lighting, parasol and navigation lighting. It is about 2.55 meters wide in diameter - one meter narrower than the boat in China. Although the price was slightly higher than in the Chinese market, other risks that may delay the whole process of receiving the boat, such as transportation, customs, etc., had disappeared.

The electric boat has two batteries, which do not work at the same time - first one, then the second if the first is discharged. In total, both batteries can be used for eight hours, which has not yet been tested, as the boat is currently tested for an average of two hours a day. The boat also has a charger so that it can be charged more efficiently.

If the demand is stable during the tourist season, then the company will consider buying another one - a larger electric boat. "Since there are already many boats in Jelgava, this is an alternative option, because there is no need for a captain, you can sit and ride yourself. The price is democratic for a larger group, because this is an entertainment - a grill, drinks, a whole event” says Mārtiņš Gedominskis.

The company "Migo City" started its operation at the end of last summer, when two friends (Mārtiņš Gedominskis and Ivars Oškalns) noticed that there is a free niche in Jelgava tourism - there were no electric scooters available. When starting the company, they were positively surprised because there was a big demand - people were waiting in lines because there was a constant shortage of scooters available. Therefore, this year the range of vehicles available in the company has been expanded, electric cars for children and a boat have also been purchased.