On October 1–2, 2025, Gdańsk will become the tourism capital of the Baltic Sea region. The European Solidarity Center will host the 17th edition of the Baltic Sea Tourism Forum (BSTF) – a prestigious event that has been bringing together the industry, administration, and experts from all over Europe since 2008. This is the third time that Poland has hosted the Forum, and its importance is growing every year.
This year, the event will bring together 200 participants from 16 countries, more than half of whom will be from abroad. Guests will come from Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Spain, Lithuania, Latvia, Germany, Norway, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and Poland, among others. The scale of participation confirms that the Forum is one of the most important platforms for the exchange of experiences for tourism in the Baltic region.
Regeneration as a new paradigm
The central theme of BSTF 2025 will be regenerative tourism – an approach that goes beyond the traditional understanding of sustainability. Experts emphasize that it is not only about minimizing damage, but also about actively restoring ecological and social balance in destinations. “Tourism today faces a historic challenge: on the one hand, it must address the effects of climate change, and on the other, it must harness the potential of new technologies. That is why the conversation about regenerative and data-driven tourism is so important today. The competitiveness of the industry, the condition of our destinations, and the future experiences of tourists depend on how we use these two pillars,” notes Marta Chełkowska, president of PROT.
The topic of regeneration is not new to the Pomorskie Tourist Board. PROT is implementing, among other things, the ReTour project, which aims to develop and test new regenerative tourism solutions in the Baltic Sea region. Thanks to such initiatives, the Forum in Gdańsk will not only be an academic debate, but a place where specific tools and good practices that can be immediately implemented in the industry are presented.
Another important project is RegenT, which acts as a regenerative tourism platform that supports public authorities, tourism organizations, and NGOs by offering training and policy recommendations for the renewal and sustainable development of tourism in the Baltic Sea region. It consolidates the results of seven EU projects, creating a space for knowledge exchange and joint strategies for partners from the Baltic countries.
Data, digitization, and the circular economy
The second pillar of the Forum will be tourism based on data and digital innovation. Discussions will focus on, among other things, the use of big data and artificial intelligence to forecast tourist traffic, systems for monitoring the impact of tourism on the environment, and smart tools for managing tourist flows.
These issues perfectly complement PROT’s work on projects related to climate transformation and the circular economy, such as CliNeDest – Climate Neutral Destinations, which develops tools to support entrepreneurs in reducing CO₂ emissions, and GOZilla, which aims to implement circular economy practices in various sectors, including tourism.
The role of PROT – regional leader and coordinator of the Baltic Strategy
Since 2022, the Pomorskie Tourist Board has been acting as the Policy Area Tourism Coordinator in the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR). This means that PROT is responsible for integrating tourism activities across the region, initiating international projects, and setting the direction for cooperation. As Magda Leszczyna-Rzucidło, Director of International Cooperation at PROT, emphasizes, “it is extremely important for PROT to be able to organize the Forum in this role, because it provides a unique opportunity not only to host experts from all over Europe, but also to have a real impact on the shape of tourism policy in the region. It is a huge responsibility, but also a source of satisfaction that Pomorskie is becoming a place where new standards for European tourism are set.”
A forum with tradition and a future
For 17 years, the Baltic Sea Tourism Forum has served as a meeting place for decision-makers, business leaders, scientists, and social organizations. In 2025, in Gdańsk, it will become a space where issues of regeneration, digitization, and closed-loop economy will be discussed in a single context—as a condition for building a resilient, innovative, and responsible tourism industry in the Baltic region.
We would like to inform you that the public task entitled “Baltic Tourism Forum 2025 – an international forum for cooperation on regenerative tourism and digital innovation” has been co-financed by the Ministry of Sport and Tourism, in accordance with agreement no. 2025/0055/0106/UDOT/DT/BP/IC.
