The student hall of residence in Koper can accept the largest number of tourists. From July 1 to September 15, 400 beds are available for renting. During the peak of the tourist season it is rather difficult to find an unoccupied bed. The situation in Izola is the same, while some vacancies are still available in Portorož.
An unoccupied bed could still be found in the Koper student dormitory for a person travelling alone. Most of the guests come from Slovenia, some of them have been spending their vacations in this manner for more than 20 years. This year however there is more organized groups than during the previous season. "It helps to cover all the expenses and the problems which are connected with financing from public funds," the principal Martin Ponikvar explained the reason for renting out rooms to tourists.
At the Izola Secondary School student hall of residence all the beds are occupied at the moment. 40% of the guests are individual tourists, the rest of them came in groups, like for example young judoists who are on preparations in Izola. For the entire summer the camp of the Slovenian Association for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities Zveza Sožitje is based in the student hall of residence, combining business with pleasure. "It is actually an educational camp, but at the same time also a vacation. We do our best to make it pleasant – in the evenings we go for an ice-cream, or go dancing. I think it means a lot to them," said the head of the camp Barbara Šinveter.
In Izola they are satisfied with the number of tourists in their dormitories. "For now the numbers are similar to those last year. In the beginning of July the number was smaller due to reorganisation of the events in Izola, but later we managed to match last year's frequency of visitors," coordinator Branko Mikolobušec expressed his satisfaction with the turnout of guests.
The guests like to come back to the Izola student hall of residence. We spoke with a guest coming from Slovenske Konjice: "We decided to stay here because the prices are favourable, the sea is very near, and a lot is going on in Izola."
The prices in the three student halls of residence at the coast range between 17 and 35 euros per day. Presently a vacant bed can be found only in the Portorož student dormitory, but only until the end of the week. More larger groups are expected later in the month, which will occupy all the available beds.
Barbara Kampos, Radio Koper
Translated by G. K.