NEWS

Prime Minister Borut Pahor attends first meeting of Council for Tourism

The Council for Tourism chaired by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Borut Pahor, met today at its first regular meeting. Prime Minister Pahor and Acting Director General of the Directorate for Tourism Marjan Hribar, assessed the situation in Slovenian tourism as positive. As the key element they exposed the implementation of two strategic goals, i.e. the increase in competitiveness of tourism in Slovenia and the expansion of the tourism sector. They also highlighted the importance of intersectoral cooperation to enhance development and improve the competitive advantages of Slovenian tourism.

   

In his statement to the press after the meeting, Marjan Hribar said that statistical figures in the tourism sector for the first three months of this year can fill us with optimism and are a good starting point for the year to come. He further pointed out that at today's session it has been agreed that the newly established Council for Tourism instructed the Ministry of the Economy to prepare a plan of short-term measures for the development of Slovenian tourism, to collect open issues and try to find solutions within individual ministries until the following meeting which is planned to be convened before the beginning of the main summer tourist season or immediately after it at the latest.  As a novelty in the Slovenian tourism sector, Mr Hribar announced the strengthening of the aviation sector, where Slovenia slightly lags behind, and mentioned agreements with new air carriers and those being already present in the country.  He also highlighted the importance of integrating cultural heritage into new tourist products as well as cultural tourism. Mr Hribar explained that in this year’s budget 42 million euros are earmarked for tourism, of which 10 million will be spent for the promotion of Slovenian tourism while the remaining funds will be used for the continuation of the investment cycle within the framework of drawing European funds.

   

In Slovenia, tourism is an extremely important economic activity having important multiplication effects on numerous other activities, a fact evident from the figures released by the World Tourist and Travel Council (WTTC) stating that tourism in Slovenia generates as much as 12% of gross domestic product.  At the same time, tourism also significantly contributes to export and in the balance of payments of the Republic of Slovenia it represents around 40% of service exports (source: Bank of Slovenia). According to the data on the volume of tourist traffic at the beginning of this year, Slovenian tourism shows a positive growth trend regarding both, the number of tourists and overnight stays as well as the income from tourism. This proves that we have successfully overcome the crisis. The positive trend also results from active implementation of tourism policy by all players involved in Slovenian tourism, i.e. the state as well as the tourism economy.

   

According to the study on the competitiveness of Slovenian tourism prepared by the World Economic Forum (WEC), Slovenia ranks 33rd among 139 countries covered in the study in terms of the overall assessment of competitiveness of tourism in the country. This means that it ranks two places higher than in 2009. On the basis of the analysis of individual factors of competitiveness, the Council for Tourism took note of the competitive advantages and disadvantages restricting the competitiveness of Slovenian tourism.  The study showed that Slovenia's competitive advantages are less strong in the very fields not strictly connected to tourism, for example aviation infrastructure, price competitiveness and direct foreign investments. The stated weaknesses require immediate action and present an advantage in further activities.

  

The Council for Tourism has also been acquainted with some most current problems in tourism  from the aspect of fostering competitiveness, inter alia also with the need to amend the Rules on the academic year calendar, the Employment and Work of Aliens Act, the Rules on minimum hygiene requirements and others, and it called upon the ministries to consider during the preparation of regulations falling within their scope of  responsibilities the proposals and solutions that could contribute to the development of tourism.

    

The participants of the meeting also welcomed the idea of organising Slovenian Tourist Days that will take place from 16 to 18 November 2011. This event will merge all major tourism related events in Slovenia, such as the Slovenian Tourism Forum, the competition "My Country – beautiful and hospitable", the Professional Meeting of Caterers and the Catering and Tourism Panel. The event, if organised as planned, could become the central event in Slovenian tourism.