What does this award bring to Slovenia?
Maja Pak: The award, which we received at the main event of the leading international tourism fair ITB Berlin, is of major significance for both Slovenia and the Slovenian Tourist Board, since it confirms the success of the steps we are taking to promote sustainable tourism. Receiving the award means at the same time a lot of media attention – both in the globally established and prestigious medium of National Geographic Traveler, which reaches as may as 450 million people all over the world, and in other international media. The award further consolidates the reputation and positioning of Slovenia as one of the greenest countries in the world. According to National Geographic, “By formalizing sustainability benchmarks and instilling a culture of continual improvement, the Tourism Board has made tiny Slovenia a major force in green tourism worldwide.” However, we did not earn this award overnight, but rather this is the result of systematic work in recent years by the Slovenian Tourist Board, destinations and providers, as well as other bodies, organisations and individuals with a focus on promoting sustainable development. The award is a sign for all of us that we have a responsibility to continue the sustainable development of Slovenian tourism, and of the country as a whole.

ITB is the biggest tourism fair in the world. What does it represent and who is involved?
Yes, the ITB Berlin tourism fair is the leading international tourism trade event, and is visited each year by more than 100,000 business people, mainly the representatives of travel operators, tourism agencies, journalists, hotel companies, destinations and educational institutions. This year around 10,000 exhibitors from 184 countries had a presence at the Berlin event. ITB Berlin is thus a meeting point for global supply and demand in tourism, and a venue for showcasing the latest trends in the industry.

How would you characterize Slovenia’s participation in the ITB Berlin tourism fair
The STB together with the Slovenian tourism sector has been participating at the fair for more than 20 years. This year the presentation of Slovenian tourism was the most extensive to date, since for the first time Slovenia was a partner country, or formally a Convention & Culture Partner IBT Berlin 2017. I am in no way exaggerating when I say that with our collective strength, intensive programme and clear, unified message at the Berlin tourism fair were very inspiring, and this was immediately apparent in the major publicity these efforts received, and I believe this will later translate into more tangible results.

Our presentation was the most extensive yet in terms of both the number of participating representatives from the local tourism sector, and the scope of promotional activities and rich expert programme that was part of the fair’s conference.

The main exhibition space for Slovenian tourism, titled I Feel Slovenia, highlighted the attractions of thermal spas and historic cities, with special emphasis on Plečnik’s Ljubljana. We were joined this year by a record number of representatives from the Slovenian tourism industry, with a total 31 companies all concluding some business for the coming season.

In a special thematic hall we laid on a presentation of green destinations and providers, specifically those who have pioneered sustainable tourism. In the additional exhibition space, in what was called the Culture Lounge, there was a Tourism Ljubljana presence on the theme of Plečnik’s Ljubljana.

We attracted the greatest attention with an agreement that each visitor to the trade fair had to use the user name I FEEL SLOVENIA and type in SLOVENIA as the password in order to access the internet. This was an outstanding promotion, and something new for the fair overall.

Slovenia was also showcased on the various advertising surfaces of the fair, and in an exhibition of photographs that used attractive motifs and slogans to invite people to discover the country.

The presentation of Slovenia and its tourist facilities was rounded off by a Slovenian evening, where, as a partner of the 5th Donausalon meeting, we were able to enhance our presence by providing an outstanding cultural programme and superb cuisine.

This year Slovenia was a Convention & Culture Partner ITB Berlin 2017. What extra activities and responsibilities did this involve?
Partnership at the fair was a demanding assignment that we wanted to exploit to the greatest possible extent. Back in October last year, with the help of Ambassador Marta Kos, a core team presented the basic concept of our presence to representatives of the ITB Berlin leadership. Immediately after this, we set up a project team and programme council, and prepared a full promotional and expert programme that we gave the inspirational name “Slovenia Makes You Green”. We wanted to place Slovenia on the world map as a green, boutique country oriented towards sustainable development.

Slovenia was highlighted right at the opening of the convention part of the fair, since the organisers invited the Slovenian Minister of Economic Development and Technology, Zdravko Počivalšek, to give the keynote speech. The greatest attention and response was garnered by a panel presentation on Slovenian tourism, where we showcased the experiences, achievements and planned activities of Slovenian tourism in the area of sustainable development together with Minister Počivalšek, climatologist Lučka Kajfež Bogataj, pilot, biologist and alpinist Matevž Lenarčič, director of Tourism Ljubljana Petra Stušek, Jan Bizjak of Garden Village Bled, and the director of the sustainable tourism institute GoodPlace, Jana Apih. On the same day Miha Kovačič, director of the Slovenian Convention Bureau, and Gorazd Čad, director of Tolerance Marketing, spoke about the range of convention opportunities as part of the ITB MICE day. A day later, at the ITB Experts Forum Wellness, Iztok Altbauer, director of the Community of Slovenian Natural Spas, talked about the success of our country’s spas. Slovenian tourism representatives also participated in other expert panels during the convention, with Lučka Kajfež Bogataj and Matevž Lenarčič taking part in special panels related to climate change.

Last year the Dutch organisation Green Destinations declared Slovenia the first green country in the world. The concept of green tourism also attracted considerable praise at the time. How did this come about?
Last September Slovenia and Ljubljana hosted the high-profile conference Global Green Destination, where Slovenia was declared the first green country in the world, meeting the Green Destinations standard at a rate of 96 percent. A large part in this was played by the Green Scheme of Slovenian Tourism, a national programme which we developed at the STB to encourage the introduction of sustainable models to tourist destinations. The scheme enables the certification of green destinations and providers, it is based on the global criteria of the European Commission ETIS system, and is internationally comparable. The scheme facilitates a culture of continuous education and progress. By means of this scheme we can spur the development of green, unique tourist experiences that fulfil the promise made with the brand I FEEL SLOVENIA. I am delighted that after just two years there are already more than 50 destinations and providers taking part in the scheme.

One of the greatest Slovenian icons is the idyllic Alpine lake at Bled, with its island and church in the middle. This scene is on the front cover of the latest National Geographic Private Jet Expeditions 2017 – 2018 catalogue of exclusive travel destinations, and that’s another significant event, isn’t it?
Yes, the STB was extremely happy that Bled, one of the greatest sites of Slovenian tourism, has now become a global icon of prestige travel with this cover. This represents major recognition for Slovenia as a boutique destination for tourists seeking the extraordinary and outstanding, and who are also prepared to pay an appropriately high price for this. In this way, Slovenia is effectively positioning itself within the most sought-after target group of tourists as an exclusive destination for fantastic, five-star experiences.

Is that the tourist market Slovenia wants?
Indeed. Slovenia has never been and does not want to be a mass tourist destination. We target tourists in higher income brackets who appreciate nature and seek small scale, unique, and green destinations, ones oriented towards sustainable development.

What can you tell us about the promotional video Slovenia. Make New Memories?
The video was part of the STB’s global digital campaign for 2016, which aimed to increase the profile of Slovenia as a destination for five-star experiences. The campaign was a great successes, and went beyond all the set targets. Overall, we reached 40 million viewers, in part through more than 100 different videos, more than 1,000 different advertisements on key websites, and through communication via social media. The video was very well received even during the actual digital campaign, and its success and effectiveness was additionally affirmed at this year’s ITB Berlin tourism fair, as it won an award in the international Golden City Gate 2017 competition.

Briefly, which projects are you planning for the next half year?
We are starting with this year’s digital campaign Slovenia. Make New Memories in 13 markets, and continuing with the intensive promotion of Slovenian tourism on social networks, which are playing an increasingly important role when people come to choose their travel destinations, as well as before, during and after their trips. We are also preparing several offline advertising campaigns in selected markets. In addition, we are almost at the point of finalising an extensive project of partner promotion on Eurosport with the broadcasting of the Tour of Slovenia cycle race, and thus advertising Slovenia and its destinations in May and June to a potential audience of 250 million people.

The first half of the year is the period in which the majority of trade fair appearances take place – each year the STB is involved in presentations at 45 international fairs and exchanges, and we organise more than 100 business presentations to travel operators and opinion leaders. Each year in Slovenia we host more than 200 representatives of foreign media whose articles make a vital contribution to increasing the profile and desirability of Slovenia as an outstanding destination. We also organise a lot of events in cooperation with Slovenian embassies around the world.

On 12 May Ljubljana will host the 20th Slovenian Incoming Workshop, at the beginning of September we will be joined by experts on the Tourism Panel as part of the Bled Strategic Forum to offer views on some of the most pressing issues in tourism, and at the Slovenian Tourism Days we and other key institutions in the local tourism scene will once again come together under one roof for the most important professional event of the year.

At the forefront of our developmental activities in the second half of the year there will be the further implementation of the Green Scheme of Slovenian Tourism, the promotion of innovative tourism with the Sejalec and Snovalec prizes, and a strategy of marketing cultural tourism is also being prepared. Beyond this is the preparation of a two-year programme of marketing Slovenian tourism in line with this new tourism strategy.

Even with this brief overview I think you can see that STB’s activities are very extensive, and possible only with an outstanding team of STB colleagues and partners in the tourism sector, as well as in other sectors, who are enthusiastically shifting boundaries so that Slovenia earns its place on the world map as a unique, green, active and healthy destination.

Tanja Glogovčan, Livija Kovač Konstantinovič, Sinfo