Support of the sustainable tourism development in the Baltic Sea region

by Lidiia Fedchuk

– is a part of tourism industry trying to

provide a low impact on the environment and

local culture.

Sustainable tourism

The Travel and Tourism in the Green Economy Symposium

Gothenburg, Sweden 14-15 September 2009

Sustainable tourism developmentof Baltic Sea Region is provided mainly by:

• UNWTO – United Nation World Tourism Organisation

• ETC – European Travel Commission

• EU – European Union

According to UNWTOsustainable tourism should:

• make optimal use of environmental resources 

• respect the socio-cultural authenticity of host communities

• ensure viable, long-term economic operations, providing socio-economic benefits

• maintain a high level of tourists’ satisfaction 

European Travel Commission

– is a non-profit organisation whose role is to market

and promote tourism to Europe in general, and to their

individual countries in particular.

EU Strategyof SDT for 2007-2013 is

to make this part of Europe more :

• Environmentally sustainable (e.g. reducing pollution in the sea);

• Prosperous (e.g. promoting innovation in small and medium enterprises);

• Accessible and attractive (e.g. better transport links);

• Safe and secure (e.g. improving accident response)

SWOT analysis

of sustainable tourism development in the Baltic Sea region

Strengths:

• Non-usual climate for many countries (cold, windy)• Diverse nature and landscape (lakes, islands, cliffs, forests)• Diverse culture and history (Vikings, Hansa, Brick Gothic, Amber)• Diverse holiday performance of BSR-tourists• Numerous initiatives and projects promoting sustainable tourism• Innovative and creative suppliers for sustainable tourism products• Promoting and developing an EU regional program• Common language – English • Successful environmental polices• Thematic and geographic co-operation on sustainable tourism

SWOT analysis

of sustainable tourism development in the Baltic Sea region

Weaknesses:

• Short summer season• Lack of supply chain management• Poor knowledge of market requirements and customers requests• Poor visibility of sustainable tourism products• Partly poor knowledge of employees in the tourism sector regarding tourism development• Gap between strategies and practices• Eutrophication (algae blooms)• Environmental problems in some areas• Lack of communications between cultural heritage experts and tourism• “Cold” mentality (Lack of communication skills important for tourism) • The lack of tourism and economic education and research• The lack of professionalism within the tourism industry

SWOT analysis

of sustainable tourism development in the Baltic Sea region

Opportunities:

• Different traditions and methods• Mapping of resources as a starting point• Potential for cross-national routes• Grooving interest and demand in nature and culture tourism• Increasing customer awareness on sustainability issues• Development of strategic co-operation• Usability of IT solutions for STD• Further development of Baltic Sea cruise tourism• A development of Baltic Sea World Heritage Tourism (culture tourism)• Growing importance of tourism for sustainable development• Improvement of economy • Model for sustainable development Baltic 21/ Labs for sustainable nature tourism

SWOT analysis

of sustainable tourism development in the Baltic Sea region

Threats:

• Growing competition with destinations outside the BSR• Increasing expectations of customers• Environmental problems associated with growth in road, air and sea transport• Sometimes politicians not seeing the tourism as an industry by majority of politicians• Overfishing as a bad example of fishing tourism development

Sustainable Tourism Development of Baltic Sea Region

Thanks for your attention!