For the first time the annual Baltic Sea Tourism Forum will leave the Baltic Sea region and will be hosted in the capital of the European Union – Brussels. On 13 November 2019 tourism representatives of the Baltic Sea region as well as from EU institutions are getting together in order to connect and learn from one another. This opportunity will be used to present the activities of Baltic Sea cooperation and the results of various projects at EU level. Representatives of the European Commission (DG Regio and DG Grow) are invited and will actively be involved in the forum’s programme.
If you have not registered yet, do so now and secure your participation at this year’s BSTF.
In order to meet the expectations of the forum as a platform for transnational exchange, it will be possible to connect in the framework of a B2B Café – the former BSTF Networking Village – which will be organised parallel to the BSTF programme points. Funding programmes, project initiatives and interested organisations are invited to present their goals and results of cross-border work in a relaxed atmosphere and to participate in the bilateral exchange with representatives from politics and business. Providing first-hand information on the daily work and outputs generated by tourism projects contributes to the goal of further stressing the importance of a mutual approach when it comes to sustainable tourism cooperation in our region. Furthermore, this will be the chance to address the needs for a fruitful cooperation in the upcoming years to representatives from the EU. We invite interested funding programmes, project initiatives and interested organisations to take part in the B2B café and present our beautiful Baltic Sea region as well as the tourism developments. Interested projects and initiatives can register for the event and fill in the B2B Café registration form. The registration will be open until 25 October 2019.
For even more interaction between participants at the forum, the organisers will introduce an application that allows all guests to easily meet up for interesting conversations with one another. The App will provide information on the programme, the speakers and all participants that created a profile. In addition, a chat function gives users the chance to arrange meeting and keep up the conversation throughout the forum. Share your knowledge, get inspired, and enlarge your network!
A little preview on the programme
This year’s BSTF title "SHARE | INSPIRE | CREATE" shall underline the reasons for our cooperation beyond national borders. The forum will provide opportunities to talk to like-minded people and ideally go home with new ideas, solutions and contacts for future cooperation.
Share achievements
The session “Share experiences” will concentrate on the potentials and challenges of cross-border work by focusing on the overreaching macro-regional strategies as well as different projects. The exchange of experiences aims at helping to clarify commonalities, to point out different approaches and to emphasise the advantages of cooperation at the macro-regional level.
Inspire partners
The second session kicks off with interactive presentations in the field of tourism market research in the Baltic Sea region and Tourism Product Development. After presenting the first BSTC Tourism Market Report at the last year’s BSTF in Riga, the University of Applied Sciences in Stralsund follows up this year with the second report. Additionally, the newly developed BSTC Trend Report will be presented for the very first time. The reports will help BSR tourism stakeholders to make better-informed decisions, thereby enhancing the competitiveness of the industry. Furthermore, the Danish Tourism Innovation will present a currently developed and tested methodology for product development in tourism. The module-based material is not just interesting for SMEs but also for all kind of projects and organisations and helps improving already existing or completely new products and ideas.
Create perspectives
The third session "Create perspectives" is dedicated to the new multiannual financial framework of the EU for the period 2021-2027. The new funding period will impact not just the international cooperation, as it influences the funds available in programmes such as Interreg, but will also define the thematic priorities of EU policy. We will use this part to get a better understanding of how the BSR cooperation and sustainable tourism development of our region will be effected and look like in the future.
Don’t miss out on the 12th Baltic Sea Tourism Forum! Register now!