BSPC WG ST Mandate September 2015

|Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference |[pic] ||The BSPC Working Group on Sustainable Tourism | || | ||Adopted by the 24th BSPC on 1 September 2015 | |The BSPC Working Group on Sustainable TourismMandate1. ConstitutionThe Working Group is constituted as an ad-hoc working group under the auspices of the Standing Committee of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference in accordance with the BSPC Rules of Procedure.2. ObjectivesThe overarching objective of the Working Group is to elaborate political positions and recommendations pertaining to sustainable tourism. For this purpose, the Working Group should establish and maintain contacts with relevant institutions, organizations and other actors in the Baltic Sea Region.The scope of work of the Working Group should cover, but not be limited to, issues such as• Sustainability from an economic, ecological, social and cultural perspective• The state of sustainable tourism in the Baltic Sea Region;• Knowledge- and competence building in sustainable tourism;• Best practices in sustainable tourism;• Measures to promote sustainable tourism;• Challenges and opportunities for sustainable tourism;• Business opportunities for the Baltic Sea Region through sustainable tourism;• Sustainable tourism as a competitive advantage for the Baltic Sea region;• The role of SMEs in developing products and services in sustainable tourism;• Potential for sustainable tourism;• Including sustainable development in the curricula on all levels in the educational systems in the Baltic Sea States• Awareness-raising about potential benefits from sustainable tourismThe Working Group and its members should aim at raising the political attention on sustainable tourism, for instance by pursuing those issues in the national parliaments of the members of the Working Group. Moreover, the Working Group should contribute to the exchange of knowledge and best practices within its area of responsibility. It should furthermore help to actively drive tourism cooperation in the BSR and to follow and influence political initiatives such as the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region and its corresponding Action Plan.The Working Group should provide political input to the Conference resolutions of the 25th and the 26th Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conferences.3. ParticipationAll member parliaments and parliamentary organizations of the BSPC are invited to participate in the Working Group with one member and one substitute each, accompanied by one advisor and/or one interpreter. Members and substitutes must be parliamentarians.Representatives of other national parliaments and relevant international organizations can be involved by unanimous decision of the Working Group members.4. Mode of WorkThe Working Group shall be headed by a Chairmanship, consisting of a Chairperson and 1-2 Vice Chairpersons.At its first meeting, the Working Group should appoint 1-2 Vice Chairpersons.The Working Group should adopt a working plan at its first meeting.Decisions of the Working Group shall be made by consensus. Abstentions do not disrupt consensus.The working language shall be English for deliberations as well as documents. Russian interpretation will be provided on a need basis. Translation of background material and other documents for the Working Group meetings to any other language than English will only be done on request. The costs in such cases shall be borne by the requesting member parliament.5. AdministrationBasic secretariat resources for the Working Group arrangements and meetings will be provided by the Chairmanship of the Working Group together with the BSPC Secretariat.Additional staff support to the Chair and Vice Chair(s) shall be provided by their home parliaments. Staff support to the members of the Working Group shall be provided by their home parliaments.Meetings will be arranged on a rotating basis between member parliaments. The secretariat of the parliament hosting a meeting shall provide assistance to the practical preparation of the meeting (booking of meeting facilities and meals, suggestions for accommodation, necessary transportation, help in finding relevant local guest speakers etc).6. CostsMembers and staff of the Working Group shall cover their own travel and accommodation costs and other expenses in connection to activities in the group.Meeting costs and all related expenditures will, as a rule, be covered by the BSPC joint financing mechanism.7. TimeframeThe start-up of the Working Group activities shall commence in fall 2015. The Working Group will agree on a meeting schedule at its first meeting.The Working Group should present a midway report at the 25th BSPC in 2016. The final report of the Working Group shall be submitted to the 26th BSPC in 2017.