news

17.06.2022

Northern Ostrobothnia to develop tourism in the Baltic Sea region

The Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia has decided to invest in the development of tourism in the region and in the wider region. The Regional Council was selected together with the Pomorskie Region of Poland to coordinate the implementation of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region's action plan for the tourism policy area. The coordinators have been granted funding under the Interreg Baltic Sea Programme at the same time as the Steering Committee of the Interreg Baltic Sea Programme adopted its first funding decisions in Warsaw on 15 June.

With the grant of project funding, the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia will start as a project manager a policy area coordinator developing tourism. The project expands cooperation between tourism operators and companies in the Baltic Sea region.

According to Pauli Harju, Regional Director of Northern Ostrobothnia, the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia's investment in the development of tourism in the Baltic Sea region complements the activities of Visit Finland and regional Visit organisations. "With this project, understanding of the Baltic Sea region as a tourist area will increase and the dialogue in Northern Ostrobothnia will be extended to the Baltic Sea region," Harju explains.

“We are looking forward to building tourism in the Baltic Sea region. The EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR) provides good guidelines for our work to develop sustainable tourism in the Baltic Sea region", says Hanna Honkamäkilä, Head of International Affairs at the Federation.

The Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia has worked in the Baltic Sea region before, especially as a member of the Baltic Sea Commission. The Baltic Sea Commission is one of the six commissions of the European Federation of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR). It is an international cooperation organisation for 150 regions in 24 countries.

The objective of the Baltic Sea Commission and its parent organisation is to increase the participation of regions in the debate on EU integration and to reduce competitiveness gaps between key EU regions and peripheral regions. The organisation collects proactive information about the EU and influences its policy decisions.