The number of tourists visiting Slovenia keeps rising, accompanied by an increasing inflow of foreign currency. The Slovenian Tourist Board (STO) is adjusting its programme to the latest figures, its key projects being included in the coalition agreement of the new government.
The management of the Tourism, Hotels and Restaurants Association of the Slovenian Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday discussed tourism-related data for 2004 and the proposal on the STO 2005 programme, which was presented by STO director Bojan Meden.
The programme is based on three main pillars - the information system and e-business (the set-up of the new domain www.slovenia.info, the integration of an on-line booking system), research and development (profiles for Slovenia's key markets, upgraded strategies for promoting Slovenia's tourism), and business communication (the introduction of the UK among the key markets, the set-up of an info point in Paris).
Meden agreed with a remark made by Janez Pergar, chair of Kompas, one of Slovenia's leading toursit operators, who pointed out that the key partners of the STO were companies rather than organisations and ministries.
Head of the Slovenian Association of Tourist Agencies Mateja Kunc noted that the association saw a competitor in the information system developed by the STO.
Head of the Economics Ministry tourism directorate Darja Radic stressed that the STO 2005 programme was very transparent. She said the ministry had already reviewed the programme and that it supported it.
In the first ten months of the year, Slovenia attracted 2.09 million tourists, 4% more than in the same period last year. Alongside the increase in the share of foreign guests, the inflow of foreign currency has been raising significantly.
Over the first eight months of the year tourism brought SLovenia EUR 874.08, which is 7% up compared to last year. Foreign currency inflow is expected to total EUR 1.7bn at the end of the year, according to independent consultant Majda Dekleva.
There has been an increase in the number of tourists coming from western countries, while the number of guests from the east has dropped.
The number of overnights by guests from the UK has increased by almost one third, with an increase of 40% in the overnight stays by visitors from France. A growing number of tourists from Israel, the US, Australia, Canada and Japan has also been recorded, according to Dekleva.
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