STA, 8 April 2021 - The SPIRIT agency issued on Thursday a second call for micro, small and medium-sized tourism and hospitality companies for the co-funding of operating costs in the first wave of the epidemic in spring 2020. EUR 36.2 million is available and over 6,000 companies are expected to apply, with the aid to be paid out at the end of June. [Details on the website – Slovene only]

Firms will receive a lump sum ranging from EUR 900 to EUR 9,999 for the period between 12 March and 31 May 2020, said the SPIRIT agency for entrepreneurship, internationalization, foreign investments and technology.

The money is meant to help them remain in business and preserve jobs, or to relaunch after the coronavirus restrictions are lifted, SPIRIT said in a statement.

The agency's director Tomaž Kostanjevec said SPIRIT was aware that the country's tourism and hospitality companies had been hit hardest.

He said that at least 6,400 companies are expected to apply for funds as part of the second scheme.

SPIRIT published the first such call last November, making EUR 10 million available for up to 1,000 companies.

The lump sum was capped at EUR 9,999, with as many as 821 companies having received the aid. SPIRIT did not specify how much money had been paid out.

Two groups are now eligible: companies which have their financials publicly available in the AJPES database for 2019 and those which do not have them in the AJPES database but have had their taxes assessed by the Financial Administration on the basis of their reported income.

Those from the first group will get a lump sum at 16.5% of their 2019 costs, labour costs excluded, and those from the second group at 12% of their entire costs. . [Details on the website – Slovene only]

STA, 21 February 2021 - Domestic tourists are expected to spend the rest of tourists vouchers, dominate this year's tourist season in Slovenia and make for the bulk of tourist nights, a survey into travel trends of Slovenians in 2021 shows.

"This year we expect the tourist vouchers to be again a big success after they saved our season in Bohinj last year," said the author of the survey, Anže Čokl, the head of two hotels from the area around the Alpine lake of Bohinj, north-west.

The number of foreign tourists will meanwhile heavily depend on vaccination rates, which will be key to restrictions easing, border reopening and an air travel rebound.

Domestic and foreign experts expect tourism to first recover at the local level where destinations can be reached by car.

Tourists are expected to book shorter holidays and closer home, while domestic tourists will expect to get even more for their money, the survey shows.

The problem are foremost destinations which are tightly linked to large groups from more distant parts of the world, such as Asia, Čokl explained.

However, as soon as it is possible, people will get back to old travel ways.

High hygiene standards are meanwhile there to stay and will play a major role in choosing accommodation, there should also be a rise in boutique accommodation and interest in less visited destinations.

With all hotels closed during the epidemic, there is a bit more time for education and preparations for next season, so I was interested to learn what Slovenian experts expect from this year's summer season, Čikl explained the motivation behind the survey. He thus talked to hotel directors, tour operators, researchers and other experts.

He said the structure of tourists in Bohinj completely changed last year, with the number of Slovenian tourists up from 8% in the pre-coronavirus year 2019 to 90%.

"Slovenians are good guests, but have different habits and the manner of travel than tourists from abroad."

The experience at Bohinj Eco Hotel shows that they like to spend much more time outdoor, while staying in Bohinj fewer days than foreigners, only 2-3 as opposed to 5-7.

Although he is not worried about the summer season, the problem is the events industry, a source of revenue in autumn and spring, which the pandemic has severely hit.

"When it comes to recovery in business events, we are unfortunately talking about years, not months," Čokl said.

STA, 18 February 2021 - The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is conducting 29 house searches around Slovenia on Thursday as it is investigating an EU-funded tourism project, including at the home of former Agriculture Minister Aleksandra Pivec.

Fourteen persons and one legal entity are suspected of fraud involving EU funds and of abuse of office, while no-one has been detained, the NBI said.

The unlawful gain from the suspected crimes, which carry a prison sentence between one and eight years, is over EUR 100,000.

Pivec said in a written statement police had arrived at her home this morning investigating the Strategic Development Innovation Partnership Tourism (SRIPT) case.

She was invited to take part in the project in 2017 while serving as a state secretary at the Office for Slovenians Abroad, and received EUR 35,000 gross for her contribution.

Auditors meanwhile questioned the amount of work she put in and even her copyright, but she has denied any wrongdoing on several occasions.

"Only a completed independent investigation will finally confirm that I did nothing unlawful as part of SRIPT," she said today.

The SRIPT project by the Chamber of Tourism and Hospitality was eligible for EUR 390,000 from the European Regional Development Fund.

In mid-2019, the Economy Ministry reported suspicion of fraud and forgery to the prosecution after going through co-funding contracts for the project.

But the ministry apparently did not file a criminal complaint against Pivec.

According to news portal Necenzurirano, criminal complaints were filed only against Klavdija Perger, a former director of the Tourism and Hospitality Chamber, Boštjan Brumen, the dean of the Brežice-based Faculty of Tourism, and against Maja Uran Maravič, a lecturer at the Turistica tourism school from Portorož.

SRIPT was designed to bring together different stakeholders in business and R&D, and boost investment in sustainable tourism development projects.

Pivec's job on it terminated a day before she became agriculture, forestry and food minister in September 2018.

She hopes that once the investigation is over, "the media lynching and unjustified allegations" against her, which she said appeared when she became DeSUS leader in January 2020 to remove her from the political scene, would finally end.

STA, 1 February - After a very rough year that saw the coronavirus pandemic halve tourist arrivals, Slovenia's tourism sector is in for another demanding year in 2021. However, the country holds the title the European Region of Gastronomy this year, bringing hope that the sector will once again be able to open.

This year, the Slovenian Tourism Board (STO) included restaurateurs in its scheme with the sign Slovenia Green Cuisine.

Being the European Region of Gastronomy, Slovenia has great potential due to its quality local ingredients, tradition and creativity, an online press conference on Monday heard.

But in 2020, Slovenia's tourism sector found itself at the same level as it was 10 years ago, Maja Pak, the director of the STO said.

Recovery will take a long time, she said, estimating that the figures recorded in 2019 could be reached only around 2024.

The situation is not expected to improve much this year, albeit more foreign guests are expected, whereas their numbers plummeted in 2020, while the number of domestic guests increased by about 20% over 2019.

Data by the European Travel Commission show that Slovenia and Denmark were the only two European destinations that recorded an increase in the overnight stays of domestic guests in 2020.

Vaccination inspires hope for the future, however it is still key that tourism businesses survive until guests return, said Simon Zajc, state secretary at the Economy Ministry.

"True recovery will only be possible when international transport is relaunched and restrictive measures are lifted both in Slovenia and abroad," he added.

He believes that the mitigation measures by the government aimed at helping companies survive had gone a long way in helping to preserve jobs in the sector. Among others, he highlighted the extension of the tourism voucher scheme.

Expressing hope that accommodation facilities will be able to open soon, he did however not wish to speculate when this could be.

STA, 29 January 2021 - Slovenia recorded slightly over three million arrivals of domestic and foreign tourists in 2020, down by almost 51% on 2019, as a surge in domestic tourism failed to offset the collapse in foreign tourist arrivals, show data released by the Statistics Office on Friday.

Slovenian tourist accommodation facilities saw a 21% increase in domestic arrivals at the annual level with their overnight stays rising by 33%.

The arrivals of foreign tourists were down by 74%, whereas the overnight stays by them dropped by 71% on 2019.

Out of the foreign overnight tourists most came from Germany (almost 25%), followed by Austrians and Italians (11% each), Croatians (7%), Hungarians and the Dutch (each 5%).

The arrivals of both foreign and domestic tourists were down by 97% year-on-year in December, to just 9,300, and overnight stays plunged by 91%, as the lockdown shut down virtually the entire tourism sector.

Foreign tourists that spent the most nights in Slovenia in December came from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia and Croatia.

More on this data

STA, 15 December 2020 - The Ljubljana City Council has adopted a new strategy for the development of tourism in 2021-2027. The main goals include increasing off-peak season visits and average spending, and extending the average stay. The strategy acknowledges the post-coronavirus tourism recovery will take time.

The Slovenian capital seeks to increase the number of tourist nights by 14%, with the average spending per tourist to rise from EUR 101 to EUR 140 and average duration of stay to increase from 2.5 to 3 nights.

Two of the cornerstones of the city's tourism remain the same: meetings and short city breaks. The third pillar will be gastronomy, which the city sees as a significant development opportunity.

Overall, the success of the strategy will hinge on increasing visitor numbers between November and March.

One of the events designed to entice tourists in the off-peak season is a new Ljubljana Love Festival in February with a series of weekend events such as exhibitions, concerts and dance festivals.

November Gourmet, which would tie the city's gastronomy with local customs, music and dance, would revolve around St. Martin's Day, the traditional Slovenian celebration of must turning into wine.

The strategy was confirmed by the City Council at Monday's session.

STA, 8 December 2020 - Slovenian tourism is preparing for long-term recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic. The recovery plan will span until the end of 2023, with tourism resilience being strengthened for years to come, the central annual event in the sector heard. Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek thinks that the sector will return to record-breaking results.

This year's virtual Days of Slovenian Tourism revolves around response efforts in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.

Počivalšek noted at Tuesday's event that the number of tourists in Slovenia in the first ten months of 2020 dropped by 46% and the number of overnight stays by 37% compared to the same period in 2019.

When it comes to foreign tourists, the number of arrivals plunged by 72% and the number of overnight stays by 69%.

By the end of October, almost 6,000 tourism workers registered as unemployed at the Employment Service. Moreover, many are furloughed.

Počivalšek also pointed out that numerous tourism companies had pushed back investments due to the precarious situation.

"A longer recovery period is expected, perhaps even five years," he said, highlighting that tourism would need extensive support from the state and EU.

He vowed additional aid for the hospitality and tourism sectors and the meeting industry in the emerging seventh stimulus package.

Domestic tourism consumption will continue to be boosted by tourism vouchers, whose validity has been extended until the end of 2021, he said.

The way forward will be outlined in the 2020-2023 recovery plan. Shareholders are also coming up with projects to draw on EU funds.

Počivalšek expressed optimism regarding EU financial instruments designed to help the sector after the pandemic and said that depending on the epidemiological situation, Slovenia's partial lockdown could be eased by reopening facilities in the tourism and hospitality sectors among other things.

He believes that Slovenia's tourism will be again breaking records and bagging achievements.

Slovenian Tourist Board (STO) boss Maja Pak presented updated tourism forecasts for this year. The organisation is a bit less optimistic given the worsened epidemiological status at the end of the year as it was in late summer.

Until the end of 2020, the STO expects a 51% decrease in the number of tourists, including a 74% drop in the arrival of foreign tourists.

The number of overnight stays is expected to decrease by 42% on 2019. "This means that this year we will lose seven million overnight stays due to the pandemic," she said.

Next year is forecast to deliver similar figures. The STO anticipates a bit more foreign guests and somewhat fewer Slovenian tourists.

The number of tourists from abroad is expected to rise in years to follow, boosting tourism growth.

The recovery plan is based on several phases. The first-response phase is to be followed by the recovery phase, which is to last until the end of 2023.

The second phase will focus on the domestic market as well as neighbouring or nearby markets. Public calls as well as public health measures will be adjusted.

The third phase will focus on strengthening resilience, running until 2026. Restructuring and development of tourism infrastructure will be in focus.

Tourism will have to be at the heart of the national recovery and resilience plan, Pak said, adding that sustainable and digital development should be key.

She highlighted, among other things, re-establishment of air links, business tourism and investments as future challenges.

When tourism is relaunched, there will be many rivals, the STO boss noted, adding that Slovenia was at an advantage since it had been investing in sustainable or boutique tourism for years.

Andrej Prebil, the head of the Tourism and Hospitality Chamber (TGZS), meanwhile urged the government to draw up a separate stimulus package for tourism that would include all segments of the industry.

Additional funds for the STO are also necessary, he said, describing the organisation as the cornerstone of Slovenian tourism promotion.

Prebil believes at least EUR 10 million would be needed for recovery. Maintaining Slovenia's status as a green, active and safe country among foreign and domestic tourists is key, he added.

STA, 3 December 2020 - The government extended the validity of tourism vouchers until the end of 2021 on Thursday. Announcing the move, government spokesman Jelko Kacin said that the decision aimed to help the tourism sector, which has been badly hit by the epidemic.

Tourism vouchers were introduced as part of the third stimulus package, which was passed in parliament in late May.

They were given to all Slovenian residents - adults received a voucher of EUR 200 and minors EUR 50. The vouchers could be redeemed only in exchange for accommodation services.

The measure kicked in on 19 June and was available until the closure of all accommodation facilities during the autumn lockdown in late October.

The government first set down that the vouchers would be valid until the end of 2020, however already prior to the closure of hotels it acknowledged the possibility of extending the validity period.

The Financial Administration (FURS) data show that by 1 October some 883,100 vouchers worth EUR 113,74 million were redeemed.

Over two million persons received the vouchers, with the total value of the measure being EUR 356.9 million.

Holiday vouchers saved the summer tourism season in various places, particularly on the coast, in mountain resorts and spas.

On the other hand, the measure barely had an impact on the situation of accommodation providers in cities, and certain other destinations more popular among foreign tourists.

STA, 25 November 2020 - Tourism facilities in Slovenia recorded slightly more than 173,000 tourist arrivals in October, which is 63% less than in the same month last year, which is mostly attributed to the coronavirus epidemic and more specifically, the government locking down tourism facilities as of 24 October.

While the number of Slovenian guests increased by 2% to almost 134,000 in October, the number of foreign tourists dwindled by 88% to around 40,000 year-on-year, the Statistics Office said on Wednesday.

Overall, they accounted for more than 543,000 overnight stays, which is 49% less than in October 2019. Domestic tourists generated 25% more stays (412,000), while the number of stays generated by foreigners was down by 82% to 131,000.

Germans accounted for the largest number of overnight stays by foreign tourists (16% or 20,000), followed by citizens of Austria and Italy (13% each), Serbia (10%), Bosnia-Herzegovina (8%) and Croatia (6%).

An increase in overnight stays was recorded only in agritourism farms (up 24% or around 16,000), with 88% of total overnight stays accounted for by Slovenian guests.

Between January and October, slightly more than three million tourist arrivals were recorded in Slovenia, which is 46% less than in the same period last year. The number of overnight stays dropped by 37% to slightly more than nine million.

What is probably a result of free tourism vouchers granted by the government and partial border closure, the number of Slovenian tourists increased by 39% and the number of overnight stays they generated was up by 49% year-on-year.

On the other hand, the number of arrivals of foreign tourists dropped by 72% and the number of their overnight stays was down by 68% compared to the January-October period in 2019.

More details on this data

STA, 5 November 2020 - The closure of restaurants, hotels and other tourism facilities in the wake of Covid-19 has put companies in the sector in an unenviable position. Some have already been forced to lay off staff, but most of them are hoping the planned sixth stimulus package will help preserve jobs.

The key measures to protect jobs in tourism and hospitality would be to cover the total cost of the furlough scheme and to compensate business for income loss.

Unemployment was not on the rise in Slovenia in October despite partial lockdown. The companies did not repeat mistakes from the first wave of the epidemic when they were quick to let go workers and re-hire them after the government measures stepped in.

The Gorenjska unit of the Employment Service received only one announcement of major downsizing in tourism and hospitality in the autumn, Drago Perc with the unit told the STA, noting that one company said it would lay off some 30 staff.

Many companies are making use of the furlough scheme in the meantime, however Marcela Klofutar, manager of Vila Podvin and Linhart hotel in Radovljica, believes that the measure is not sufficient.

In the spring businesses were refunded the entire compensation for furloughed workers, meaning 80% of their pay, whereas now they only get EUR 870, which means that employers have to cover the rest, that is at least EUR 1000 per gross pay, she said, adding that businesses closed due to the epidemic cannot afford that.

Numerous companies in the sector are without any income. Vila Podvin is trying to get by until the sixth stimulus law is passed to see whether the pay compensation measure would be the same as in the spring.

"If that is not the case, people would have to register as unemployed," she warned, pointing to Austria as an example of good practice since the country has ensured compensation totalling 80% of last year's revenue.

Sava Turizem, one of the major Slovenian tourism companies, is also stressing the importance of stimulus measures. If the government does not endorse measures proposed by the tourism sector, then layoffs could not be avoided, said the company.

Given the sector has been worst hit by Covid-19 ramifications, additional boosts are necessary, including direct one-off aid to offset losses and a new edition of holiday vouchers, said Sava Turizem.

Meanwhile, some are not relying on government support but only on themselves. Matija Blažič, managing Hotel Ribno in lakeside resort Bled, has already laid off 40% of his employees.

"If the state measures were sufficient and announced in advance, it might have been different, however everything is passed last minute in Slovenia," he said.

"There does not exist a tourism company that could pay the entire team for half a year without work." Lakeside resort Bled might see better days around Easter next year, according to him.

A pessimistic outlook for the winter tourism season is shared by Janez Hrovat, the mayor of mountain resort Kranjska Gora and also a businessman trying to survive in the struggling sector.

He believes many, particularly those who invested heavily prior to the epidemic, will be in trouble and hopes the second wave will bring similar measures to those in the first.

Blaž Veber, the head of Turizem Kranjska Gora, has also urged stepping up boosts and following the examples of Austria and Germany regarding compensating revenue loss.

He believes the government measures have been effective so far, however the situation is worsening and the sector does not require help but compensation since it is not its fault it cannot function. It would probably take years to get to the pre-Covid level, he added.

Many providers of tourism services as well as owners of bars and restaurants are also concerned about having generated negative cash flow during the coronavirus crisis, which is thus expected to be followed by the debt crisis, heard yesterday's online debate on tourism after Covid-19.

The discussion, hosted by the Ljubljana School of Economics and Business, featured the head of Fraport Slovenija airport services Janez Krašnja, the head of the Association of Slovenian Hoteliers Gregor Jamnik and restauranteur Martin Jezeršek.

The last two urged the government to provide grants in the sixth stimulus package, warning that the debt crisis would halt the development of the sector.

Krašnja meanwhile said that the aviation industry has had a catastrophic year and that the recovery could last until 2024 at the minimum.

However, air passengers are still expected to be those who spend the most and the industry will have to adjust to the new normal, he said, adding that coronavirus tests could become part of airport checks in the future.

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