The action plan consists of five areas which are branding, product development, knowledge, infrastructure and cooperation. Finland, Sweden, Arkhangelsk, Murmansk and Norway cooperate developing these areas. The action plan will be presented at seminar of the Kolarctic-ENPI project on Public-Private Partnership in Barents Tourism in Rovaniemi later this week.
The outcome of the plan is based on research, and serves policies for cross-border tourism development in Barents Region.
In 2008 the Russian Ministry of Tourism took the initiative to establish the Joint Working Group on Tourism (JWGT). The purpose of the group is to resolve the challenges’ in the tourism industry and promote economic cross-border development in the Barents Region.
The main tasks of the group is to endorse ecologically, socially and culturally sustainable tourism. The JWGT works both on national and regional level. At the national level information and state policy are provided, involving plans, programs, national legislation and amendments. The regional stage is implementing the co-operation in practice.
For the tourism industry to develop economic cooperation across the Barents borders, it will not only be the tourist companies that must be involved, but also local and national political actors. Tourism associations, regional authorities, are in cooperation with the official working groups the main stakeholders in disseminating information and knowledge about cross-border tourism in the Barents Region.
