Tourism in Slovenia’s and Austria’s Carinthia regions - like day and night

A report from Šentanel

16. avgust 2016 ob 13.09 • Ravne - MMC RTV SLO

Austria’s Carinthia region places third in Austria regarding tourism. It heavily advertises itself on new, mostly Asian and eastern markets. Foto: carinthia.at

While Austria’s Carinthia region generates up to one billion euros in profit from tourism, Slovenia’s Carinthia (Koroška) region is in a poor state. Nature has provided great potential, however the state, and partly the locals themselves, are unfortunately unable to profit from the landscape.

RTV journalist Katja Gole went out on the field to find out why and what can be done to improve the situation. She made a stop in Šentanel, a little village above Prevalje, which boasts the Tourist Village title. Sadly, it is also one of the rare villages in the Koroška region which still persists in its tourist activities.
Around 30 villagers live on the six farms which are mostly involved in tourism. The village, where tourism developed around 40 years ago, prides itself on good food, friendly people and beautiful landscape. The number of tourists in search of beautiful mountain sceneries and experiences increases by the year.

"The first thing we want to draw our guests’ attention to is life on the farm, our homemade food and the products we process and use to prepare good healthy food. Guests are welcome to spend their holidays with us and basically be a part of our family," Martina Libnik from the Gradišnik tourist farm told RTV.

Amazing village paths and trails make the village surroundings a popular destination for mountain biking. Mountain bike trails spread across the whole Meža Valley (Mežiška dolina).

Neglected by the state
Locals are aware that the number of visits could be much, much higher, if it were not for the poor roads and the area’s remoteness. Residents in the Koroška region have been waiting for better connections with Ljubljana for more than two decades now. Karmen Sonjak, from the Regional Development Agency for Koroška, says the state should recognize the region’s tourism potential and allocate funding to the more remote regions in Slovenia, which "are not the seaside or Ljubljana ".
Incidentally, Austria’s Carinthia region places third in Austria regarding tourism. It heavily advertises itself on new, mostly Asian and eastern markets. This year it has already invested around 60 million euros for promotional purposes alone.
Lake Klopein (Klopeiner See), where many Slovenians go for one-day visits, has the capacity to accommodate more than 10.000 visitors. Every year the popular lake resort records around 700.000 overnight stays.