Overcoming the depressiveness of the resort city of Jurmala by creating a tourist and recreational zone in the region

The object of research is the free economic zones in the European Union of different directions with an emphasis on special economic zones. One of the most problematic is the elimination of depressive factors in regions that have lost economic power. Methods of analysis and synthesis, personal observations, analogies and comparisons, and the processing of statistical data are used in research. The results reveal the need to support depressed regions in the EU countries. The example of the city of Jurmala, which after the collapse of the USSR is in a depressed state, the political and economic factors of decline in the field of balneology is revealed. To overcome depressiveness and return the glory of the spa town, it is proposed to create a tourist and recreational zone in Jurmala and the region adjacent to it. Privileges for doing business could be endowed with enterprises focused on the export of health goods and services. The availability of human resources in healthcare and tourism is one of the important positive aspects for the implementation of this proposal. In view of the increased application of legislation related to the organization of special economic zones in Latvia, there are no obstacles to expanding the scope of application in the SEZs.