Schick and Lindstroem speech at 26 BSPC

Developing Sustainable Tourism-scriptIntro - FritziGood morning ladies and gentleman! We are very honoured to bespeeking to you today. this is Elias Lindstrom and my name is FriederikeSchick. He is 23 years old and i am 17. Together we are here to presentto you the outcome of the BSYF in Kiel in March this year. In a group of13 young delegates from all over the baltic sea region we gathered todiscuss the topic of sustainable tourism together with your responsibleworking group. Not only did we get a great insight into the way politicianswork but we were also able to integrate our ideas and wishes.In order to present them we split our outcomes into five main areas:Digitalisation, Borders, Work and travel programs, Tourism and at lastenvironment.Digitalisation - EliasUse of digital tools is an important success factor for a touristdestination. A web-portal for the Baltic Sea Region is something that wasseen as important by all participants in our discussions. With easyaccess to the individual countries info-sites and in the future, booking fortrain/ferry tickets in a package.Digitalisation of museums were an idea that also was thoroughlydiscussed. Digital equipment in physical museums will have to beimplemented for an interactive experience, by using augmented- andvirtual reality.Start-ups in different forms is where innovations happen, sufficientsupport needs to be in place to assist their growth and enable them tokeep their level of innovation high.The strength of the Baltic Sea Region is that we are a very diverseregion with many different countries, cultures, ethnicities and languages.The idea of a common marketing for our region is something we wouldhave to agree upon, though the term “baltic” might be hard for somecountries to accept. We discussed alternative concepts that describe ourregion. The hanseatic league is something that we previously were apart of, the term “Hansa” Could perhaps be something that could beused in a common brand for the baltic sea region.Apart from being a diverse region, the political stability in our region isalso a great argument for tourists. You can experience what makesEurope great by visiting the countries around the Baltic Sea, with shorttravel distances and diverse cultures.Borders - FritziThis leads directly to the next topic: Borders. As Elias just said, thebaltic sea region is so incredibly rich in cultural diversity and yet there isjust a sea between them. So in order to make the baltic sea regionattractive for a generation that travels more than any other before,openborders are essential. It must be possible to visit different baltic countrieswithout complicated border procedures.Another idea that we had which would make travelling in the baltic searegion more attractive is a so called baltic sea summer ticket. Similar tothe Europe ticket or summer ticket. With one ticket one should be able totravel across the baltic sea and visit different countries.Furthermore infrastructure such as port facilities and train stations mustbe improved to make travelling as comfortable and sustainable aspossible. Everything should be accessible without a car.In order to achieve all of that a cross border cooperation between thedifferent tourism industries is needed. This has been mentioned beforeby other speakers but we really believe that a good cross bordercooperation is the key to easy travelling and a successfull internationaltourism industry.Work & Travel - EliasEducation is a part of what makes a good tourist destination, but thereare challenges.Jobs in the tourism industry are generally seen by youths as somethingfor low-qualified workers with low wages. To attract people to work fulltime in the tourism industry, the status of these jobs needs to improve.Also improved knowledge of different languages is much needed.Tourist destinations around the Baltic sea are almost exclusivelysummer destinations, for people to make a living wage off their work,some type of full-time jobs has to be offered. Here cooperation is neededbetween summer and winter destinations. For example, you could workduring the summers near the coast and the rest of the year at a skiresort.Exchange programmes could also be a part of this. You could work halfof the year, and combine it with studying something that benefits thetourism industry.Tourism - FritziAs the whole baltic sea region includes so many different countries itoffers a great range of tourism industries. We beliebe that we have tostrenghten the different branches to really make use of the greatpotential that we surely believe in!At first one could establish a so called Eco tourism. By increasiglymarketing farms urban tourist can escape from the crowded citys andenjoy the nature. One could establish a regional association to supportfarms.Nature and sport tourism includes activities such as hiking, cycling,swimming or even husky racing. All these activites should be accesablethrough a tour de baltic”.The last idea and actually my favorite one is attracting more touriststhrough cultural tourism. Music festivals such as the german rock festivalwacken in Kiel would attract thousand of people. But also other festivalssuch as art or food festivals would attract a wide range of people. Againit must be easy to find these event, maybe by using the mentioned webportal. A pass for multiple events would allow people to stay for a longertime period.Environment & Ending - EliasMass Tourism is an issue when it exploits the natural resources andruins the culture and “soul” of the destination. There are places invarious countries around the world where this has happened. If we wishto improve our status as a tourist destination we need to keep this inmind.Port facilities is something that has to be improved to enable asustainable ferry traffic, for example by enabling ferries to use powerfrom land instead of running their own engines during stays in harbours.Public transport is an important factor when developing a sustainablelifestyle for all us, together with electrification and use of green energy.These are some of the points from our discussions during the Baltic SeaYouth Forum, however a recurring event would be needed to enableyoung politicians to get together and discuss important topics. We hopefor a continued support from the BSPC for a youth forum in the comingyears.I would like to end our presentation with a big thank you for being giventhe chance to present this, and perhaps we might meet again next year?