TECHNICAL SEMINAR – INNOVATION IN TOURISM:ADAPTING TO CHANGE
(24 May 2007, Bled)
THE MINISTER'S WELCOME ADDRESS AT THE OPENING SESSION
Dear UNWTO Secretary-General Francesco Frangialli,
Dear Chairman of the Commission for Europe Zdenko Mičić,
Dear regional representative of the UNWTO for Europe Luigi Cabrini,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is my great honour and pleasure to greet you here in Bled, well known as a 'true tourism pearl' of Slovenia.We are pleased to have the opportunity, for the first time in the history of independent Slovenia, to host such an important event as the meeting of the UNWTO Commission for Europe, along with the technical seminar addressing an important and cutting-edge topic INNOVATION IN TOURISM - adapting to change.
I am delighted to greet and welcome numerous delegations, international and Slovene experts in the tourism sector.We are honoured and happy to be the host of this event in Slovenia, a small, colourful, green and neat country of ours, diverse in landscape, placed between the Alps, the Adriatic Sea, the Karst and the Panonian plains, at the crossroads of the European history and roads. Slovenia, as a natural park of Alpine, Karst, Mediterranean and Pannonian landscapes, constitutes, together with the wider region, a first-class natural, historical and cultural tourist destination, which is attractive, safe and gaining the reputation in the international tourism arena.
We are all very well aware that tourism is a global phenomenon and the volume of the tourism industry has in the recent period of time been growing twice as fast as is the case of the average economic growth. Allow me to point out our most important and major orientations in the future:
-to establish new destination model, which simplifies the organisation of Slovene tourism and leads to a higher efficiency, and
-new guidelines in the field of marketing and promoting Slovene tourism.
{0>Turizem predstavlja pomembno poslovno priložnost za Slovenijo.<}0{>It is well known, that tourism represents an important business opportunity for Slovenia.<0}{0>Glede na sedanjo stopnjo razvitosti slovenskega turizma in obstoječ razvojni potencial lahko turizem v naslednjih letih postane ena izmed vodilnih panog slovenskega gospodarstva in tako pomembno prispeva k doseganju razvojnih ciljev Slovenije (Priloga 1), opredeljenih v Strategiji razvoja Slovenije 2007-2013, in v tem okviru predvsem k doseganju njenih gospodarskih ciljev (konkurenčnosti, rasti BDP, novim delovnim mestom/rasti zaposlenosti, dvigu izobrazbene ravni turističnih delavcev, uveljavljanju načel trajnostnega razvoja, skladnemu regionalnemu razvoju, povečevanju kakovosti življenja in blaginje prebivalstva, krepitvi kulturne identitete in povečevanju prepoznavnosti Slovenije v mednarodnem prostoru).<}0{>»Considering the current development level of Slovene tourism and the existing development potentials, tourism could in the following years become one of the leading sectors of Slovene economy and thus provide for a major contribution to the achievement of the Slovene development objectives defined in Slovenia's Development Strategy 2007-2013.
Allow me to present some general data on Slovene tourism:
5.5% of GDP (Tourism Satellite Accounts method)
1.7 billion euros of total turnover
6% added value
1.5 billion euros in exchange inflow
10% of Slovene commodities and service exports.
Statistical data on Slovene tourism in 2006 showed a record year.
Overnight stays reached 7,7 million (7.717.022), which counts for 2% increase from the previous year, and the arrivals 2,5 million (2.482.189), making 4% increase from 2005.
Export in year 2006 reached 1,5 billion Euros, which made 3,7% increase.
The current data (january-march) show a 8% growth of overnight stays and a 10% growth of arrivals of foreign tourists.
According to this data and the forecast reported from the representatives of the Slovene tourist industry, we may count on another record year.
Slovenia attaches great importance to innovation in tourism, which is one of key elements to increase competitiveness. A new gain in the field of innovativeness is a bank of tourism opportunities of Slovenia, which was established as a result of ongoing activities of the Tourism Directorate within the Ministry of the Economy and Slovenian Tourist Board, aimed at encouraging innovation while developing products and marketing approaches to be used in the Slovenian tourism sector.
Please allow me to extend once again a warm welcome and to wish you all successful and fruitful work as well as enjoyable gathering!