Slovenian minorities stress importance of sustainable tourism

The economic coordinating committee was founded in December 2022 at the initiative of Slovenian minority organisations to bring together their economic organisations in Austria, Croatia, Italy and Hungary, strengthen cooperation between them and Slovenia and exchange knowledge, the Economy Ministry said in a press release.

The second ever annual conference of the committee was held in Szentgotthard on Friday and focused on sustainable tourism as a development opportunity for the minorities.

Economy Ministry State Secretary Dejan Židan addressed the participants, highlighting the importance of synergies for the development of a shared Slovenian tourism space. Sustainable tourism has great potential to boost the quality and competitiveness of local economies, he said.

Among the goals of the coordinating committee for this year is a call for applications that will allow the minorities to strengthen the economy and find new ways to cooperate, Židan said.

A new programme will be prepared this year to promote the economic foundations of Slovenian minorities abroad, which will be the first such programme to include all such communities in neighbouring countries, the ministry said.

Attendees of the conference agreed that tourism that preserves culture and language is not only an opportunity for progress but a necessary part of efforts to maintain the Slovenian identity outside Slovenia.

Shared tourism projects have to be based on specific stories, local knowledge and a common vision of not only tourism but the future of Slovenians outside their homeland, they said.

Jessica Štoka from the Slovenian Regional Economic Association in Friuli Venezia Giulia said that excellent stories of Slovenian providers often did not get enough visibility. "We all share the desire for a quality, peaceful retreat with excellent, local products but we lack a shared promotional strategy," she said.

Preserving language should be the first priority as there is no community without language, said Marinka Mader-Tschertou from the Farmers' Educational Community in Carinthia. "Tourism can be a supporting mechanism if it is based on the values of community, not pure profit."

Zoran Ožbolt from the Gorski Kotar region in Croatia presented the efforts of the local community to create a micro-region with its own jobs, based on culture and nature. "We have all the conditions - clean air, nature, dedication. We need cooperation and support so that tourism doesn't destroy but strengthens our presence," he said.

Cross-border projects and attractions are key, Tamás Kovacs from the Slovenska Krajina regional development agency told the conference. "Our goal is a shared space where a project does not end at the national border but builds a shared identity." He listed the Slovenian Model Farm in Porabje as a good example and called for more such projects.

The head of the Trieste-based Slovenian Regional Economic Association, Andrej Šik believes that Slovenian communities often think too conservatively and are not ambitious enough. Slovenians should pursue a vision of a shared Alps-Adriatic space as a popular European macro-destination, he said.