In 2008 the Ministry for Economy, Employment and Tourism at that time and the Tourist Board of the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern initiated the first Baltic Sea Tourism Forum (Summit) which took place in Rostock / Germany. Core aims of this touristic rapprochement process were to develop forms of collaboration which complement the countries‘ and regions‘ own marketing strategies in a meaningful way and give the Baltic Sea as a tourism brand a better place on the market. During the recent years the Baltic Sea Tourism Forum has become the communication and exchange platform for transnational initiatives in the Baltic Sea region.

• Support a sustainable and balanced development of tourism and voice the interest of the tourism economy in the Baltic Sea region.
• Strengthen the sustainable and responsible cooperation of all Baltic Sea region countries and exploit the existing international development potentials more efficiently.
• Provide and secure a permanent platform for information and know-how exchange with the Baltic Sea Tourism Forum at its core for continuous collaboration on the basis of a multilevel process.
• Position the Baltic Sea as a coherent travel destination on the global tourism market and promote the area as an attractive, safe and natural destination for international travelers.

Since 2012, the annual forum is closely linked to the implementation process of Policy Area Tourism in the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region. It contributes strongly to the aims of the macro regional strategy, the revised action plan and defined actions adopted by the European Commission in 2015.

The Baltic Sea Tourism Forum attracts key tourism stakeholder from around the Baltic Sea and contributes significantly to transnational exchange and cooperation in the region. In 2016, more than 150 participants followed the invitation to the 9th Baltic Sea Tourism Forum in Pärnu / Estonia. The 10th anniversary will be celebrated in Turku / Finland from November 2-3, 2017 focussing on ‘The Future of Baltic Sea Tourism’ as the principle theme of the conference.