Slovenia may see another record tourist season this year, according to the Slovenian Tourism Board (STO). Data from the central bank show a 10.7 % annual increase in spending by foreign tourists in the first nine months of the year, reaching EUR 1.77 bn.
STO acting director Maja Pak has told a recent event organised by journalists focusing on tourism that for the first time ever the number of overnights would exceed 10 million this year.
“The [forecast] 12 % increase in foreign tourists is significantly above the figures recorded elsewhere in Europe,” Pak added.
The most recent data from the Statistics Office show an 11 % annual increase in the number of tourists in the first ten months of the year, while the number of overnights in the same period went up by 7.5 %.
The number of foreign tourists increased by 11.8% in the first ten months year-on-year, while the number of overnights by foreigners was 8.1 % higher, the STO said, quoting the Statistics Office.
The number of Slovenian tourists has also increased. It was up by 9.2 % year-on-year, while the number of overnights they generated was up by 6.5 %.
A similar positive trend has also been recorded in Ljubljana, the country’s number one destination. The capital expects to see 1.2 million overnights this year, a new record. EUR 10m are to be generated by tourists in Ljubljana in December alone.
Tourism generates more than 12 % of Slovenia’s GDP and accounted for 8 % of the country’s exports in general and for some 40 % of services exported, according to the STO.
Source: http://www.sloveniatimes.com/
