Friday, January 26, 2024
In 2023, Slovenian tourism achieved notable success, as announced by Matjaž Han, the Minister of the Economy, Tourism, and Sport, and MSc. Maja Pak Olaj, the Director of the Slovenian Tourist Board, in a press conference held today in Ljubljana. Despite facing global challenges such as an unfavorable economic climate, elevated transportation costs, travel restrictions, and severe floods in August, Slovenia’s tourism experienced a remarkable rebound, surpassing both the European and global averages. The figures for tourist arrivals and overnight stays have now returned to levels seen before the COVID-19 pandemic.
As per the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia, the country witnessed nearly 6.2 million tourist arrivals last year, leading to just over 16.1 million overnight stays—an unprecedented record.
Minister of the Economy, Tourism and Sports, Matjaž Han, expressed pride in these accomplishments, highlighting the industry’s resilience despite August’s catastrophic floods during the peak summer season. Additionally, the stressed that “the value of travel exports strengthened, reaching 3.08 billion euros from January to November 2023 – a 10% increase compared to the same period the previous year. These results underscore the resilience of Slovenian tourism and its ability to overcome significant challenges. The collaboration between the state, municipalities, tourist companies, organizations, employees and volunteers is crucial in creating higher quality and recognition for Slovenian tourist destinations. I believe that Slovenia is well on its way to realizing the vision of “green boutique” tourism, characterized by a smaller ecological footprint and greater value for all.”
In comparison to 2022, there was a 5.5 percent increase in arrivals and a 3.5 percent rise in overnight stays. When contrasted with the pre-coronavirus year of 2019, tourist arrivals saw a slight decrease of 0.6 percent, while the number of overnight stays increased by 2.2 percent.
Minister Han emphasized that, in line with the Slovenian tourism strategy until 2028, the ministry is committed to enhancing the quality of tourist services and increasing added value on a national scale. He stated that this initiative would not only benefit tourist companies but also their employees and, importantly, the local population. The ongoing focus is on consistently elevating the quality of tourist products. Minister Han stressed the pivotal role of strengthening management and integration at the regional-destination level to foster tourism development evenly across the country throughout the year. All these efforts align with the ‘Something more and much better’ strategy, emphasizing a measured increase in capacity and, above all, ensuring higher quality and added value for all stakeholders.
Director of the Slovenian Tourist Board (STB), MSc. Maja Pak Olaj, expressed satisfaction with Slovenian tourism’s performance in 2023, stating: “Despite numerous challenges, we recovered at a pace faster than both Europe and the world. Achieving near-full recovery post-pandemic highlights Slovenia’s strong position as one of the most desirable tourist destinations. As we entered 2024, the STB embarked on an ambitious plan comprising extensive promotional and communication activities, targeting both foreign and domestic markets. The focus for 2024 and 2025 is especially on art and culture. Our goal is to showcase Slovenia as a sustainable, modern and creative destination, characterized by top creators, artistic production, festivals, events and preserved cultural heritage. Ongoing breakthrough development projects, including the establishment of the National Information CentrE and the upgrade and digitalization of the Green Scheme of Slovenian Tourism, align with our main goal—to contribute to the continued quality growth and higher added value of Slovenian tourism.”
Sunday, April 28, 2024
Sunday, April 28, 2024
Sunday, April 28, 2024
