The partnership came about because of two important factors. The first was a common interest in strengthening tourism by co-ordinating the historic and cultural offer of the city with the nature-based and agricultural tourism of the hinterland. The second factor was the role of the Liibeck Bay Regionen Aktiv programme in establishing a way for the individual rural municipalities to form a common association that had shared values and that could act as an agent when discussing options for partnering with the city. By aggregating the individual municipalities into a single unit, the two populations were more equal in size and the negotiations could take place with the rural municipalities having already agreed on a single strategy.