Speech Final Report WG

Speech by Mrs Sara KemetterVice-Chair of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference (BSPC) Working Group on Sustainable Tourismat the 26th BSPC Annual ConferenceHamburg, 5 September 2017Check against deliveryHonourable Chair,Dear colleagues,Dear guests of our 26th annual conference,after two years of intensive work, it is my great pleasure to present to you the final report of the Working Group on Sustainable Tourism. Unfortunately, Ms Sylvia Bretschneider, President of the Landtag Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Chair of this working group is unable to attend this year’s conference.As Vice-Chair of the working group, I am pleased to give you a summary of our work and our political recommendations.Let us look back. In the summer of 2015, the 24th BSPC in Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, launched the Working Group on Sustainable Tourism with the overarching objective to elaborate political positions and recommendations pertaining to sustainable tourism. For this purpose, the working group established and maintained contacts with relevant institutions, organisations and other actors in the Baltic Sea Region.In these two years, we met seven times. The meetings were alternately hosted by parliaments of the Region. We invited experts from different policy fields and backgrounds to give presentations on certain topics. We collected best practices in sustainable tourism as a methodical approach to support the transfer of advantages and opportunities of sustainability between the Baltic Sea Regions.With our theme of sustainable tourism, we are highly topical. As you know, the year 2017 is the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development. Therefore, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation also contributed to our fifth meeting in Brussels in January 2017.I would like to give a short overview on our topics.We focussed on best practices in Island Tourism, Cruise Tourism, Cycling Tourism as well as the existence and implementation of sustainable approaches of a national strategy.The working group furthermore had a look at existing connections between environmental protection, climate change and sustainable tourism. Especially in the field of optimizing traffic routes, there is a lot to do, with many different possibilities and ways for all regions to reach a more sustainable level.Moreover, we had intensive discussions on the different tourism taxation models and tax incentives in the tourism sector. In general, tourism is a growing sector so that the fiscal policies in the Baltic Sea states have to react to these tendencies.Due to the fact that the governments of the states and regions distributed their answers concerning the implementation of the 25th resolution, it was possible to analyse the implementation of our mid-term working group recommendations regarding sustainable tourism – this is the first time that proved possible for a BSPC working group.I would like to focus on the three issues mentioned in the final report. A fact to be welcomed is that the topic of cooperation plays a key role in many answers of the governments. Especially the cross-border cooperation between different states and regions around the Baltic Sea in the field of tourism is a relevant issue for the governments. To cooperate in the field of tourism is a real challenge because the stakeholders are often competitors. But we need cooperation to strengthen our position in the worldwide market.Therefore, from our point of view, it would be a big step forward if the Baltic Sea States could elaborate a common programme based on a strategy within the framework of the CBSS to develop sustainable tourism in the Baltic Sea Region.It is of crucial importance to note that the topics “tourism” and “sustainability” are not separate policies. Many answers are illustrating the growing connection between tourism and sustainability. Therefore, for my colleagues and I, it was and is very important that we call on the governments in our resolution primarily to make sure that the consequences of tourism are sustainable and for this reason adopt models and methods to save and protect nature.A very gratifying aspect is that governments are mentioning and supporting the Baltic Sea Tourism Centre in Rostock and the Baltic Sea Tourism Forum. The opening of the Baltic Sea Tourism Centre and the support of the Baltic Sea Tourism Forum were key recommendations in the 25th BSPC resolution.At our sixth meeting, young people appointed by the BSPC members were included in the discussions of the working group. The parliamentarians and young adults evaluated the presentations and discussed several proposals, ideas and impulses. The topics included several aspects of sustainable tourism – education, digitalization or the question of a common “Baltic Sea Brand”. In a few minutes, you will see a presentation from two representatives of this Baltic Sea Parliamentary Youth Forum. For the working group members, this approach of debating together with young people has proven its value – we should continue this format.For the final working group meeting, I invited the members to my homeland, the Åland Islands. Experts began the meeting by presenting the numerous developments concerning sustainable tourism that have already been achieved or will yet be implemented on the Åland Islands. The Deputy Head of Government of Åland, Camilla Gunell, presented our Development and Sustainability Agenda that is central to these developments, featuring seven strategic goals. One of the young representatives also presented the results of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Youth Forum to the working group.As a final step, we elaborated concrete recommendations for promoting sustainable tourism. As you all know, we delivered the recommendations to the BSPC Secretariat: 4 recommendations regarding Cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region, 9 recommendations regarding Sustainable Tourism, and we encouraged recommending the continuation of involving young people into the procedure of the BSPC working groups. They were part of the draft resolution.For all this intensive work, let me express my special thanks to all the members of the working group and all who were helping us.Honourable chair,Distinguished delegates,the mandate of the BSPC working group on sustainable tourism will end today. I am sure that we can maintain our close contact and our close cooperation. With regard to our long-standing political engagement in tourism policy – we as Baltic Sea Parliamentarians should continue our engagement in this field.Let's all together and together with our governments try to achieve what is also pointed out in the draft resolution of this conference:To orient our work along the principle that sustainability is the guiding principle and standard practice in all types of tourism in the Baltic Sea region andwork towards the vision that the Baltic Sea Region will become the first eco-region in the world, conceiving of the BSR as the first region where ecology and economy work together in a balanced and integrated manner to sustain societies and culture.Thank you.