The CBSS long-term priorities were reviewed in 2014. They explicitly support sustainable tourism development by means of strengthened tourism cooperation in the BSR and joint tourism development. The Global Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted in 2015. The CBSS renewed their commitment to a more sustainable development of the BSR in 2016.
What has happened since? How has tourism fared in terms of a more sustainable development? The project “From the SDGs towards sustainable Tourism in the BSR” will track down the status quo of sustainable tourism in the BSR, identify best practices, trigger processes, gaps and differences in order to develop, provide and communicate solutions. The project is only the first formal step towards a more systematic approach to promoting sustainability in the tourism sector: a flagship process in the frame of EUSBSR’s PA Tourism which aims at achieving a real impact.
Challenges facing the sector:
- Unequal understanding and incoherent, scattered knowledge on status quo of sustainable tourism development in BSR
- You can’t manage what you can’t measure
- Variety of stakeholders and levels of activity in multi-level governance context
- Reach impact
Overall aim
Make Baltic Sea region tourism more sustainable while encouring the tourism sector to act more responsibly at the same time.
Major objectives
- Gather knowledge on status quo of sustainable tourism development in BSR
- Identify gaps and opportunities for dialogue, exchange and cooperation
- Build overall network of stakeholders interested in advancing sustainable tourism development in BSR
- Identify potential contribution of BSR tourism to SDGs
- Research on existing tools to measure sustainability in tourism
- Use findings an insights to develop a PA Tourism flagship process
Funded by the Council of the Baltic Sea Region, the project runs from 01.09.2017 – 31.08.2018 with a total eligible budget of EUR 72,170.60.