Welcome to Slovenia
With almost 60 per cent of its territory covered by forest, Slovenia is targeting its tourist attractions for those who are fond of nature.
Located in Central Europe touching the Alps, Slovenia offers a wide variety of landscapes as it is the meeting point of the Mediterranean, Panonian and Dinaric worlds.
“Further than being surrounded by vegetation, most of Slovenia’s accommodations are eco-friendly and many outdoor activities are designed to make sure visitors notice that they are in a place that is unique,” a Slovenia Tourism Board spokeswoman said.
Indeed, an increasing number of Slovenian accommodations have the European Eco-label for tourist accommodation service. Introduced in 2003, the European Eco-label means that each has the following assets:
Limited energy consumption.
Limited water consumption.
Reduced waste production.
Favouring the use of renewable resources and of substances which are less hazardous to the environment.
Promoting environmental education and communication.
The first eco-label tourism accommodation in Slovenia is Terme Snovik.
A handy land
Slovenia is indeed a quite small country, but has a diverse wildlife within. It accounts for less than 0.004 percent of the Earth’s surface but is home to more than one per cent of all known living creatures and more than two of all land and freshwater species.
Such geographical feature gives Slovenia a handy route for visitors to follow. Actually, distances can be managed by bicycle and “there are tours for cycling which lead through regional parks, the surroundings of health resorts and through interesting areas of Slovenian countryside”.
Visitors who would like to combine the green with the beneficial qualities of the nature can choose one or more of the many possibilities that Slovenia offers.
Tourists can go around Slovenia through a handy cycle path. Photo Courtesy of Slovenia Tourism Board.
“For an active holiday we recommend cycling, hiking, water sports, extreme sports, and so on. But if visitors would like to spend their holiday in a more tranquil and relaxing spirit, they can visit our health resorts or wellness centres. For a genuine experience of green nature, visit the Slovenian countryside and spend some time on a farm”.
And another major attraction is Slovenia’s local cuisine. Many accommodation establishments offer organically produced food.
In the Koroška region a project involves ecological production and processing from seed to plate. The project is coordinated by Amarant Kooperativa d.o.o., a community cooperative organisation, which in its first year of operation has brought together over 15 farmers offering a varied range of organic produced of vegetables, cereals, fruit, products made with fruit, vegetables and herbs, mill products, pasta.
Among the best
Slovenia scored 78 points classifying 5th in a list of 133 rated tourist destinations from every continent.
It shares its ranking with Vermont (USA), the Kakadu National Park (Australia) and Medieval Granada and the Alhambra (Spain), which are going to be included in the upcoming issues of the prestigious National Geographic Traveller magazine.
Judges rated Slovenia as “savvy about balancing tourism with cultural and historical preservation”. In the opinion of the panellists, Ljubljana is a “colourful, vibrant and architecturally appealing” capital city, while “Slovenia’s Alps and wine country remain among the most sustainable and authentic places to visit in Europe.”
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