Baltic countries

Christmas holidays are gone now and tomorrow the usual routine resumes. I think this is the right time to start drawing sketches of dissertation - just had a nice brake, hopefully finished with assignments and next term just began. Last summer I visited ex-communist countries which now members of EU - Latvia and Lithuania and things I have seen there inspired me and gave me the idea for my dissertation. Before the collapse of USSR these countries were popular destination for other soviet republics, mainly because they were different to other members of Soviet Union and for majority of soviet people who did not have possibility to go anywhere abroad, visiting these countries was some kind of substitute of visiting western countries, experiencing "western life" due to culture, architecture. And in soviet era these countries were called "second west" and were distinct to other soviet republics. Nowadays it is totally different story - visited these states last summer I felt if I was in other European countries but not in the ex-communist states - all tourism services are oriented to western tourist - menus in restaurants very often on country's native language and in English, brochures, maps, service personal - all the same! Wanted to find out places to see in Vilnius - information on official website is only on Lithuanian and English. I work in tourist agency in my country and our core destination is Lithuania and we provide visa services for people wishing to visit this country - I know how many people go there from my single country - many! And I know how many of them speak Lithuanian or English - not many! And if to add up other ex-soviet countries it gives considerable number of tourists. The idea of my dissertation is how the joining the Baltic countries to EU and later to Schengen zone and the tourism in this countries becoming oriented mainly to European tourists effected the number of visitors from ex-communist countries. Would it be appropriate to attract "new" tourist and at the same time to try to hold and keep interested "old" tourist? At the end of the day they are both tourists and both spend.