Slovenia's show at Expo to focus on digital content

The event taking place between 20 October 2020 and 10 April 2021 is an opportunity for Slovenia, which will be featured in the Sustainability Pavilion, and "it has something to show", said Robert Drobnič, Slovenia's general commissioner for the Expo 2020 Dubai.

Ajda Cuderman, the director of the SPIRIT investment promotion agency, added that the "common thread of the Expo is countries showing what technologies and solutions they have for creating a better tomorrow," as the event's theme is Connecting Minds, Creating the Future.

According to Polona Prešeren, the manager of the I Feel Slovenia brand, Slovenia wants to show the world "who and what we are, what we are good and successful at, and that we are small only on paper, because we are otherwise brave."

She said that the brand was not focused only on tourism, but also on entrepreneurship, technology, sport, science and culture.

The Slovenian pavilion, in which the country will be presented under the motto Green Smart Experience, will be the "core of what Slovenia is about", said Cuderman, while Drobnič added that Slovenia expected 2,000 visitors a day.

The event will feature 190 countries and an expected 25 million visitors. Considerably more business executives are expected than in Milan in 2015, mostly from Asia.

Drobnič said the plan was to encourage connections with potential investors and new tourists and facilitate cooperation between companies, science and culture.

As Dubai is much father from Slovenia than Milan, "it will be hard to bring everything that we want there", Cuderman admitted, adding that for this reason Slovenia would focus on digital content.

The content will be presented in a "green and smart room". "We will present wood, water and the green environment, which is something we as one of the rare countries in the world know how to respect and cherish."

There are also spatial restrictions at the site and not all companies who would like to present themselves there would have room. Another location is thus being sought where Slovenian products and services could be sold.

Slovenia also wants to present itself as a nation of inventors, as both inventors from the past and current inventions, including in artificial intelligence and environmental protection, will be presented.

Karmen Novarlič of the Slovenian Tourist Board (STO) said that the STO wanted to also attract attention of rich tourists in Dubai. "We want to increase added value, consumption, number of guests throughout the whole year," she said.