"Towards a greener and more sustainable tourism in the Baltic Sea Region"

 

 

Below, you will find all the information regarding the event in 2023

 

1. #BSTF2023 general information

2. Agenda

3. Registration link

4. Practical info

5. Past BSTF foras

 

 

1. #BSTF2023 general information

The EUSBSR Policy Area Tourism Coordinators organise the 15th Baltic Sea Tourism Forum with support from: the Estonian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, Visit Estonia, Visit Tallinn and the Council of the Baltic Sea States.

• The annual forum for EUSBSR Policy Area Tourism since 2008
• This forum aims to promote dialogue, consensus building and a shared vision of the key challenges of tourism development around the Baltic Sea
• BSTF is closely linked to the implementation process of Policy Area Tourism
• It contributes strongly to the aims of the macro-regional strategy, the revised action plan and the defined actions adopted by the European Commission like EU Pathway to Tourism.
• BSTF attracts key tourism stakeholders from BSR, like DMO representatives, regional authorities, local municipalities, pan-Baltic organisations, etc.
• The average amount of participants in recent years: 70-130
• Arranged by EUSBSR PA Tourism coordinators: Pomorskie Tourist Board (PL) and Regional Council of Oulu Region (FI) with guests and speakers from all EUSBSR countries and beyond. 

2. Agenda (draft as of 1.06.2023)

 

 

3. Registration link

The registration link will be provided in the 2nd week of June; please stay tuned and register as soon as possible. 

Please note that participation in the Baltic Sea Tourism Forum is for free, but the participants must organise their travel and accommodation. For a special promo code for the accommodation, scroll below. 

 

4. Practical info

• The forum takes place on 11th October 2023 (Wednesday) from 9.30 - 17.00 CET
• Registration starts at 8.45 am CET
• Get together for speakers & guests on Tuesday, 10th Oct at 18.00
• Forum will take place in Radisson Collection Hotel, Tallinn
• The rate for the rooms for EUSBSR promo code - 130 EUR per night per person single room
• Participation in the Forum is free of charge, but registration must be confirmed by the 1st of Oct
• There will be a special promo code for the participants who are interested in taking part in the Green Destinations summit happening from 8-10th Oct, prior to the BSTF2023 - please check the event page here: https://www.greendestinations.org/gd-2023-estonia/

 

 

BSTF2023 is organised by the EUSBSR Policy Area Tourism Coordinators with support from: the Estonian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, Visit Estonia, Visit Tallinn and the Council of the Baltic Sea States

 

5. Past BSTF foras

In 2008, the Ministry for Economy, Employment and Tourism at that time and the Tourist Board of the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern initiated the first Baltic Sea Tourism Forum (Summit), which took place in Rostock / Germany. The core aims of this touristic rapprochement process was to develop forms of collaboration that complement the countries' and regions' marketing strategies meaningfully and give the Baltic Sea as a tourism brand a better place on the market. During recent years, the Baltic Sea Tourism Forum has become the communication and exchange platform for transnational initiatives in the Baltic Sea region. It aims to promote dialogue, consensus building and a shared vision of the key challenges of tourism development around the Baltic Sea.
Since 2012, the annual forum has been closely linked to the implementation process of Policy Area Tourism in the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region. It contributes strongly to the aims of the macro-regional strategy, the revised action plan and the defined actions adopted by the European Commission in 2015.
The Baltic Sea Tourism Forum attracts key tourism stakeholders from around the Baltic Sea and contributes significantly to transnational exchange and cooperation in the region. In 2018, around 400 participants followed the invitation to the 11th joint Baltic Sea and Latvian Tourism Forum in Riga / Latvia. Last year, in November 2019, the BSR tourism community met in Brussels for the very first time. The 13th Baltic Sea Tourism Forum took place online 10.-13. November 2020. The host organisations were the Ministry of the Economy and Innovation of the Republic of Lithuania and the Palanga resort.

The 14th Baltic Sea Tourism Forum will take place on 1st December 2022 in an online format. Over 115 participants joined us for the Forum. The host organisations were EUSBSR Policy Area Tourism Coordinators: Pomorskie Tourist Board and the Regional Council of Oulu.

The main aims of the Forum are:
1. Support sustainable and balanced tourism development and voice the interest of the tourism industry in the Baltic Sea region.

2. Strengthen the sustainable and responsible cooperation of all Baltic Sea region countries and exploit the existing international development potential more efficiently.

3. Provide and secure a permanent platform for information and know-how exchange with the Baltic Sea Tourism Forum at its core for continuous collaboration based on a multilevel process.

4. Position the Baltic Sea as a coherent travel destination on the global tourism market and promote the area as an attractive, safe and natural destination for international tourists.