Forth, as for the coastal areas management, the public interest and not private investors' should determine planning procedures adjusted to this integrated approach. The Baltic States should then adopt common minimal standards relating to the coastal line protection, where investment in infrastructure should go hand in hand with the planning. 
Fifth, as to the regional cooperation tooted in common interests and benefits, it should be developed on a multi- level scale. Better information exchanges and activities coordination is needed, though. Networks of similar projects could be of interest, as well as a specific project information system could be developed. Cultural heritage and nature preservation are important initial prerogatives for any form of the "soft tourism". Hence, their protection is a must in the BSR. 
Finally,cooperation agreements and excellence quality marks are proposed. Baltic Sea States should introduce uniform marks of tourism excellence quality complying with the international standards. Not to mention that the marking procedures should be clear and credible. Local governments and tour operators should provide tourists with broader information about the environmental recommendations to promote environmentally friendly human behaviour. 
An outstanding problem hindering tourism development in the Baltic cities is the safety of tourists. It would be necessary to have a decent cooperation platform in order to exchange experiences in the field of concrete initiatives improving the level of safety. 
Tourism and environment are such significant elements in the multinational regional cooperation that several hundred coastal cities have created the International Forum of Coastal Cities Tourism and Environment (IFCCTE) with its seat in Tel Aviv. The IFCCTE conference in Greece (1995) compared municipal maritime cooperation in the selected basins: the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, the Black Sea and

the Baltic. Remarkably, tourism cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region has been considered as a model one. 
The Baltic cities that implement the sustainable tourism policy should see to be placed on the World Heritage List of UNESCO. Nevertheless, it is not easy to obtain this excellence quality mark. For instance, in Poland only 8 cities have met the required criteria. 
The Baltic Tourism Cooperation has been based on the tourism development scheme called "BALDER", boastfully recognised by the regional organisations including the UBC, and emphasising the need for intensified maritime collaboration. You may ask: What connects all the Baltic cities? - The answer is Ferries! 
The present and the past are intertwining. Historic routes like Amber (the gold of the Baltic) are the tourist product. Likewise are the renowned Hanseatic, Vikings, and Maritime cultural trails. "Amber" is a European project, worth being

used. Presently many cities participate in various projects. For example, Baltic Cities Tourism Project developed jointly by Kalmar, Karlskrona, Gdynia, Rostock, etc. rightly assumes the need for better coordination of cooperation between the cities in tourism development. There is a great demand for the Baltic Tourism Academy, which should be understood as the federation of higher education schools educating sustainable tourism oriented specialists. 
The XXI century is a challenge for the Baltic tourism development. While revenue is not the only measurable element here, it is worth promoting and implementing the ideas of Baltic 21 Tourism Group. This is supposedly the major task for the Homo Balticus! 

Tomasz Studzieniecki 
holds the positions of BTC - link Poland coordinator, director of tourism department in Agency for Regional Development in Gdańsk and lectures tourism at Gdynia Maritime Academy