Agreement among the Government of the Republic of Latvia, the Government of the Republic of Estonia and the Government of the Republic of Lithuania on Co-operation in the Field of Tourism

The Government of the Republic of Latvia, the Government of the Republic of Estonia and the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, hereinafter referred to as the Parties,

recognising the importance of tourism development and its contribution to economic, cultural and social life of their countries;

taking into account the related historical and cultural heritage and similar tourism resources of the three Baltic States;

willing to establish the legal framework on the principles of equality and mutual benefit for the close and long-term co-operation in the field of tourism and to develop relations in this field not only among their states but also among their tourism organisations in order to create a common space for tourism development by recognising its importance for the integration in the Baltic Sea region;

taking into account that the promotion of tourism among the three Baltic States follows the principle of sustainable development;

realising the significance and the benefit of co-operation for the Baltic States within the Baltic Sea region in order to encourage the integration of the region into the international, especially European tourism activities;

acknowledging the necessity of preparation of those states in the field of tourism for the accession into the European Union;

have agreed as follows:

Article 1

The Parties shall promote the development of tourist flows among the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Estonia and the Republic of Lithuania with the view of improving mutual knowledge of life, history and culture of their nations.

The Parties shall co-operate in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement and the laws in force in all three countries, respectively.

Article 2

The Parties shall favour closer mutual co-operation among their national tourism administrations and national tourism organisations, natural and legal persons engaged in tourism business as well as public tourism organisations participating in the development of international and domestic tourism.

Article 3

The Parties shall mutually exchange statistical and other information in the field of tourism including:

1. laws and regulations in the field of tourism of the respective countries;

2. laws and regulations related to the protection of cultural and natural resources of tourist value;

3. international co-operation regarding the interests of the other Parties;

4. tourist information, namely by means of printed materials, films, electronic channels, advertising campaigns, conferences and seminars, development of electronic data system, organisation of exhibitions and trade fairs.

The Parties may establish tourist information offices or appoint official tourism representatives in respective countries.

Article 4

The Parties shall exchange information pertaining to the accession to the European Union in relation to tourism.

Article 5

The Parties shall encourage the upgrading of tourism industry skills by co-operating in education, training and exchange of experts, personnel and students in the tourism sector.

The Parties shall assist both public and private organisations as well as natural persons in the preparation of various tourism development studies and projects.

The Parties shall encourage the co-operation in domestic and international scientific and applied tourism research.

Article 6

The Parties shall co-operate in:

1. Promoting the Baltic area as a tourist destination;

2. Development of tourism product;

3. Development of tourism infrastructure and quality of tourism services;

4. Liberalisation of tourism formalities;

5. Collection of statistical information;

6. Participation in international tourism organisations.

Article 7

To ensure the implementation of this Agreement, the Parties shall establish a Joint Tourism Committee (hereinafter referred to as the Committee) consisting of tourism officials from the three countries. The aim of the Committee shall be to implement joint proposals, programmes and resolutions linked to the development of trilateral co-operation in the field of tourism.

The Committee shall elaborate the working programme for a two-year period.

Each Party shall determine the quantitative and qualitative membership of the Committee on the basis of the principle of equality. The Parties shall notify each other thereof.

The Parties shall inform each other within six months from the entry into force of this Agreement about the nomination of three Co-chairmen, one from each country. In order to implement this Agreement, until the first meeting of the Committee the Co-chairmen shall act as contact persons among the Parties.

The Committee shall meet once a year, alternately in the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Estonia and the Republic of Lithuania.

The Parties may invite private sector experts and representatives from the three countries to participate in the activities of the Committee.

Article 8

The Parties have agreed that the following public authorities shall be co-ordinating for the implementation of this Agreement:

The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development in the Republic of Latvia;

The Ministry of Economic Affairs in the Republic of Estonia;

The Ministry of Economy in the Republic of Lithuania;

Article 9

Neither Party will accept any responsibility or liability as to how the results of the co-operation under this Agreement are applied or used by the counterparts.

Article 10

The alterations and amendments to this Agreement shall be made by the mutual consent of the Parties through the protocols, which are an integral part of this Agreement and shall follow the same procedure as its entering into force.

Article 11

Any dispute among the Parties on the interpretation or application of this Agreement shall be settled by negotiations or by any other means of dispute settlement acceptable to the Parties.

Article 12

This Agreement shall enter into force upon the date of its signature.

This Agreement shall be valid for a period of five years and shall be automatically extended for another subsequent period of five years unless either Party informs the other Parties in writing of its intention to terminate this Agreement six months before the expire date of the Agreement.

The termination of the present Agreement shall not affect the implementation of programs and projects that have been launched during the period of its validity, unless otherwise agreed upon by the Parties.

Done at Visaginas on 26 June 2002 in three original copies each in the Latvian, Estonian, Lithuanian and English language, all the texts being equally authentic. In case of divergent interpretation of this Agreement, the English text shall prevail.