EUSBSR Policy Area Tourism

Happy Independence Day, Finland! Hyvää itsenäisyyspäivää, Suomi!   Today, we celebrate Finland - one of the eight EU Member States bordering the Baltic Sea and forming the core of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region.   Transnational cooperation helps us find common solutions to joint challenges on a regional level. Thank you for making this cooperation possible, Finland!

Webinar - Get ready to apply funding from Aurora 🗓️ 15 January 2025 🕘 09.00 – 10.30 (CET) Are you preparing an Interreg Aurora application? A small-scale project or a regular project? Do you want to make your application shine? The Interreg Aurora team can help! You find more info on our web page https://lnkd.in/dUG9cPvr #InterregAurora #CrossborderCooperation

Just a few days left to spark innovation and collaboration across borders! 🌟🚀 Are you ready to elevate the achievements of projects, drive knowledge sharing, and shape policies that address the #BSR biggest challenges? 🤝 Submit your full application for a project platform before 9 December, 16:00, and be part of shaping impactful solutions! 🌍 https://lnkd.in/djfPHwYS ✨ #Interreg #MadeWithInterreg #EUinmyRegion #ProjectPatformCall EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region European Committee of the Regions European Commission  EU Funds

Coastal tourist towns in the Baltic Sea Region face water management challenges during the tourism season. They experience sharp fluctuations in tourist numbers and drought conditions, leading to significant water resource issues: https://lnkd.in/ebZZgHVc Representatives from the projects WaterMan, ReNutriWater, and NURSECOAST-II (all funded by the Interreg Baltic Sea Region) develop solutions to this emerging issue. Climate change has caused water shortages during the summer holiday season in many regions around the sea, creating new stress and even limitations to water usage, particularly for the region’s tourist destinations. Solutions to this problem can also offer win-win situations for nutrient pollution management and help keep the sea healthy. EUSBSR Policy Area Tourism and Policy Area Nutri, hosted by Varsinais-Suomen ELY-keskus foster Baltic Sea Region-wide cooperation on this join challenge.

🌍 This month, we had the amazing opportunity to participate in a study visit to the Faroe Islands to boost our understanding of #regenerative tourism! 🌱 Since one of our PACs, Pomorskie Tourist Board, is a partner to the Interreg South Baltic Programme  #ReTour project focusing on regenerative tourism, we went to gather best practices in the Faroe Islands to bring some insights for all BSR tourism actors working with us. We met with local experts to discuss regenerative tourism practices and create innovative solutions for sustainable tourism. 🌱🌍 During this visit, we: • Learned about the concept of regenerative tourism and its impact on local communities and the environment. 🌿👥 • Exchanged experiences and inspiration with Faroe Islands experts from their successful DMO Visit Faroe Islands and our project partners like Visit Skåne AB, Visit Lolland-Falster, Asociacija Klaipėdos regionas / Association Klaipėda Region, Institute for Tourism Research in Northern Europe 💬🌍 • Witnessed firsthand examples of regenerative tourism practices in action. 👀✨ One of the key experiences we had was learning about the Heimablídni concept—a unique tradition where locals invite visitors into their homes for homemade meals. This not only offers an authentic experience of Faroese hospitality but also strengthens local communities by providing an additional income source for families, especially those involved in farming. 🌾💚 Through Heimablídni, tourism becomes a tool to empower local communities, creating genuine connections between visitors and residents. It’s an incredible example of how tourism can actually benefit the local community by integrating sustainable practices into everyday life. 🌍🤝 The Faroe Islands’ focus on Heima (Home) and regenerative tourism is genuinely inspiring. This approach could also adapted to our Baltic Sea regions, where local communities are central to the success of tourism initiatives. We look forward to integrating these learnings into our work on the #ReTour project and via the EUSBSR Policy Area Tourism Action Plan to foster regenerative tourism practices in the region. Interreg Baltic Sea Region EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region

Happy Independence Day, Latvia! Priecīgu Neatkarības dienu, Latvija! Today, we celebrate Latvia - one of the eight EU Member States that border the Baltic Sea and form the core of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region. Together, we are better equipped to build a greener, more prosperous and connected Baltic Sea Region.   Thank you for making this cooperation possible!

What a wonderful news! 🤩 Thanks to the Interreg Baltic Sea Region programme, the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region Policy Area Coordinators projects will now continue in 2025 & 2026, and we see new #sustainabletourism projects among the approved ones! Congratulations!👏

Happy Independence Day, Poland! Szczęśliwego dnia niepodległości!   Today, we celebrate Poland - one of the eight EU Member States that border the Baltic Sea and form the core of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region. In 2024-2025, Poland holds the Presidency of the Strategy, leading the work in Saving the Sea, Increasing Prosperity and Connecting the Baltic sea Region. During the Presidency, Poland prioritises ✔️ making every effort to support Ukraine in our work. ✔️ ensure the smooth updating process of the EUSBSR Action Plan, to match the current challenges in the region. ✔️ the inclusive nature of cooperation within the Strategy, well-functioning governance and measurability of the Strategy’s actions, as well as external communication and visibility of the Strategy.

As the EUSBSR Policy Area Tourism Coordinators, we had the pleasure of leading workshops during the #EngagementDay at the #EUSBSRforum2024 in Visby/Sweden, introducing #regenerative tourism initiatives and helping new Baltic collaborators forge meaningful connections 🤝 . During the Forum's 1st day, we co-hosted a joint workshop on "Sustainable tourism and water resilience" with PA #NUTRI / Elsi Kauppinen. We discussed the pressing challenges faced by #BalticSea coastal regions, including water shortages, quality issues, and seasonal overtourism. We had an incredible lineup of speakers: ➡ Gunilla Rosenqvist from Uppsala University; ➡ Ellen Lundkvist from Leader Gute & Kati Ahtee from Gotlands Besöksnäring. and 3️⃣ implementation-oriented presentations on solutions already being tested in the #BSR from the Interreg Baltic Sea Region projects: ➡ Tobias Facchini from the #WaterMan, ➡ Monika W. from the ReNutriWater, ➡ and Anu Reinikainen from the NURSECOAST-II These three #Interreg-funded projects are working hard to implement replicable solutions to the challenges presented in the 1st part of the session, setting inspiring examples for sustainable coastal tourism. Thank you to all who joined us in Visby, and came to say hi to us at #NetworkingVillage! 👏 Thanks also to Sonja Lavonen from the Centrum Balticum Foundation for sharing the workshop pictures with us 👍 EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region

Let's meet in Visby at the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region #AnnualForum2024! 👉 We're already here, having a great day that started at the #BSSSC round table on stakeholder involvement and continued during the #EngagementDay workshop & discussions on #sustainable and #resilient tourism. 👉 You can meet us during the next few days in the #NetworkingVillage or attend our session "Sustainable Tourism and Water Resilience" on 30 October at 14.45 CET. #EUSBSR #EUSBSRforum2024 Pomorskie Tourist Board Pohjois-Pohjanmaan liitto – Council of Oulu Region Pomorskie Magda Leszczyna-Rzucidło Anna-Maija Toivonen