Slovenia Green
Slovenia is a Central European country famous for its mountains, lakes and ski resorts. Considering the pre-pandemic statistics, more than 6 million tourists visited the country in 2019 with more than 15 million overnight stays. The Slovenia Green brand offers tourists a sustainable tourism experience. Famous for its natural assets, Slovenia is considered a role model in terms of sustainable development. Slovenia positions itself as a green, boutique destination for five-star experiences; thus, the country not only increases its tourism revenue, but also distributes travelers more evenly across four seasons and its regions.
Slovenia tackles sustainability issues systematically and strategically. Slovenia united all its stakeholders through the Green Scheme of Slovenian Tourism certification programme. The country puts efforts at the national and local levels to make sustainable tourism an economic pillar. Thus, destinations, suppliers and local stakeholders are actively involved in the process.
The potential issue of overtourism in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, is prevented by strengthening the appeal of surrounding towns with new destinations and thematic products.
The Green Scheme of Slovenian Tourism is a national tool and operates under the umbrella brand, Slovenia Green. While the umbrella brand is managed by the Slovenian Tourist Board, the GoodPlace Sustainable Tourism Factory and the Green Destinations have been designated as the project partner and the international project partner, respectively. Having been carried out since 2015, the programme has included more than 130 destinations, accommodation locations, nature parks, tourism agencies, tourist attractions, restaurants and beaches in the sustainable tourism movement. Offering many alternatives in terms of sustainable accommodation, Slovenia also offers other options besides traditional hotels, such as staying in tree houses, eco-lodges or glamping.
Although the destinations in Slovenia are basically evaluated based on the Green Destinations Standards, which is a global standard system, the national standards developed for the programme are also included in the evaluation process. The Slovenian Green label is provided in two different types, i.e., silver and bronze. The sustainable tourism goals and strategies of Slovenia comply with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
13% of Slovenian lands, which are intertwined with nature with the Alps, large forests, Adriatic Sea, Pannonian Basin and vineyards, have been declared as nature reserve. There are many nature parks in the country, where is rich in terms of biodiversity. Supporting sustainability not only in tourism but also in legislation, Slovenia hit the fifth rank in the Environmental Performance Index for its efforts on sustainability.
Several different practices have been carried out in Slovenia to support sustainability and sustainable tourism. For example, downtown of the capital, Ljubljana, is now completely pedestrian-friendly. The largest square of Ljubljana is closed to motorized traffic. Electric vehicles are encouraged in the event anybody needs to go anywhere quickly within the city. Ljubljana was named European Green Capital in 2016. Putting efforts in order to improve the slow tourism concept in the country, Slovenia was named the Most Sustainable Country on Earth by National Geographic in 2017.