The final session of the BSPC Working Group on „Sustainable Tourism“ took place from May 29 to May 30 on the Åland Islands after almost two years of intensive work. Jörgen Pettersson, Vice-President of the BSPC and Sara Kemetter, Vice Chair of the Working Group, welcomed the members on behalf of the delegation of the Åland Parliament to the BSPC.
„In our final session, we developed eleven important and concrete recommendations to the governments of the regions of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference. The theme is highly topical for all of us, given that the United Nations has declared 2017 the official Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development. We will use our work and recommendations in order to make a contribution that will strengthen sustainable tourism in the whole Baltic Sea Region“, concluded Sylvia Bretschneider, Chair of the BSPC Working Group on “Sustainable Tourism” and President of the Parliament of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
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 a Development and Sustainability Agenda that is central to these developments, featuring seven strategic goals.
Furthermore, the members of the Working Group were briefed on concrete tourist projects in the archipelago, providing sustainable and naturalistic offers.
Above all, comprehensive recommendations and a call for action for this year’s resolution of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference were advised and adopted. The members also began laying the groundwork for the final report of the Working Group. This report will be published at the beginning of September and will present the key points and results of the two years of work.w