10 things I like about Slovenia

Ariane Goerke, young German entrepreneur discovering innovative Slovenian tourism

As the holiday season approaches, I would like to take the opportunity to say thank you to my host entrepreneur Novi turizem and to the four tourism institutions/companies (NEC Cerknica, Vina Štekar, STB and Autentica) I visited so far for your invitation to collaborate with me and your hospitality. Without your support this exchange programme and my future business would not be possible.
I send my best wishes to you and your loved ones and hope that the New Year will be filled with happiness and most of all business success. I look forward to working with you in the coming year!

Being a "young ambassador" of Slovenia, I feel I should say some things about what I like most about this beautiful tiny country:

1. The variety of landscapes that can be discovered: from the Alps to the Adriatic Sea within one day!
2. Unspoiled character of nature.
3. The hospitality and modesty of the people.
4. Many people are multilingual: they understand and speak at least English and German. On the coast Italian is very common.
5. The hearty and natural food: some dishes are very German/Austrian/Hungarian-like :-). But also Slovenian pizza tastes fresher and more natural than Italian! My favourite food is jota and koruzni kruh.
6. The historical and cultural richness: Over centuries Slovenia was part of different kingdoms and empires and has been influenced by the Slavic, Roman/Venetian, German and Austro-Hungarian culture which can still be seen today in the architecture of the cities. My favourite cities are Piran and Ljubljana.
7. Since 2004 Slovenia is part of the European Union and introduced the Euro as a currency in 2007. This made travelling and economic cooperation much easier.
8. Slovenia as starting point for travels to Eastern countries: Experience and enjoy Slovenia and "the forgotten Europe" by going to Croatia, Hungary and the Balkans in just a few hours!
9. A Slovenian friend is a friend for a lifetime.
10. Relaxed atmosphere and attitude: since I have been living here I'm enjoying life more and I'm always late (yeah I know, these punctual Germans...)

Vesel božič in srečno novo leto 2012 :-)

Photo: Promotional presentation for "Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs" at youth club Cerknica (11.11.2011) for young people in the area including a group of young project managers. I was talking about the application process and my experiences with the programme as well as competitiveness of tourism in the Notranjska region. 

Authentic Experience

Ariane Goerke, young German entrepreneur discovering innovative Slovenian tourism

I spent the last days working with travel agency Autentica in Koper. Thank you Matjaž and Nina for showing me some of the attractions in Istria and on the Karst edge: we went to Hrastovlje, a small village below the Kraški rob (Karst edge - a natural border between Karst plateau and Slovenian Istria) with an old church surrounded by walls and world-famous frescoes inside (see photo). In Marezige, the "center of Refošk wine", we tasted typical Istrian wine at Dean Plahuta's ecological wine estate. A very spiritual place for me was "Slovenian Stonehenge" ;-) near Krkavče. Well, actually it's just one stone on a hill above the Dragonja valley which dates back to the 1st century. Anyway, just as we arrived at noon all churches on the hills around this strategical place started to ring their bells. Amazing!

"In search of the white gold" - "Night walk by torchlight" and "Become a caver for a day!" are just some of the charming slogans of authentic experiences that you can enjoy in the Slovenian Istria and around with Autentica. I translated some of their tours for MICE guests in Portorož  into German. I hope I did the job all right :-).

Until now, I wasn't really sure if I was able to open my own business in the future - well I have all the ideas in my head. I like to create individual tours to Slovenia and Estonia and I know from family experience what it means to manage your own business, but I'm actually not sure if I would find enough people to sell my tours to. Since I've seen what Matjaž and Nina are doing and that they really have success with the concept of offering authentic tours, I'm now getting much more motivated to try it on my own. They told me to be brave and think positive ;-) and most of all to pick the right target groups and find financial support for the first three years. We were also talking about working together in the future. Besides being manager of Autentica, Matjaž also works for the "incubator" of the University of Primorska in Koper, which gives innovative small and new companies and young entrepreneurs a platform and support to keep their business flourishing in the first years. I have to find a similar institution in Germany!

Days of Slovenian Tourism

Ariane Goerke, young German entrepreneur discovering innovative Slovenian tourism

On 8 and 9 December the Days of Slovenian Tourism took place at the Congress Center Bernardin in Portorož. The two-day event brings all tourism institutions of Slovenia together, including Slovenian Tourist Board, Ministry of the Economics, Tourist Association of Slovenia, Chamber of Tourism and Catering, Chamber of Crafts and Entrepreneurship, Association of Tourist Agencies of Slovenia as well as Slovenian Convention Bureau to talk about the future of Slovenia as a travel destination.

I joined Novi turizem team Tina and Dejan on Friday for the plenary session at the 14th Slovenian Tourism forum, where the new Development Strategy Plan for Slovenian Tourism 2012-2016 was presented. Thanks to headphones and translators I could understand everything :-)! There is still much debate on the vision and mission of the strategy. Some argue for instance, that Slovenia should focus on one main product. Others say, that there is no single USP that could work for Slovene tourism. The complexity of the brand Slovenia is the true advantage. All in all, the Slovenian Tourist Board wants to focus and encourage sustainable, high-quality and responsible tourism by promoting a GREEN sLOVEnia.

What I found really interesting was the presentation of Daniel Levine (Avant Guide Institute, New York). He talked about "The New Future of Tourism: How Slovenia will thrive beyond 2012" and showed us how Slovenia could and should use global trends in the tourism industry - personalize your products and services, post on social web, know who talks about you online and respond, think mobile and promote meaningful experiences including health, learning, environment, friends and family to name just a few of his tips.

Thanks for letting me join the event with you Novi turizem :-)! I met many innovative and inspiring people such as Tomaž Štefe, the initiator and former manager of Hostel Celica which is an old prison turned into a hip hostel, and Miha Anzelc from Židana Marela, a private company of three guys who found a market niche by organizing unique Slovenian evenings, special tours for photographers and stag parties for mostly British tourist.

Crazy! Already Christmas time?

Ariane Goerke, young German entrepreneur discovering innovative Slovenian tourism

It feels really strange to see all the Christmas decorations in the city centre in Ljubljana. I mean it looks nice, but where have all the last weeks gone? Still weather is playing tricks this year with around 10 degrees Celsius and just a little rain. Give me snow, then I might believe that Christmas time is here. Maybe some hot mulled wine on the Christmas market will help me to get into the holiday season feeling. Different to Germany, they serve mulled wine here either white (belo) or red (rdeča). Along the Ljubljanica river you can find hundred stands to gather your friends and colleagues. 

Do you know what? I will become the next Slovenian TV Super Star! Seriously.

Mrs. Mojca Reček, journalist of the national TV Slovenia, would like to make a promotional videoclip of Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs programme for the TV show "European Magazine" and asked me and Kamila, another young entrepreneur, to join the show. They will film us at work and do a little interview. I've never been on TV before. So, wish me luck :-).

Hey, did you hear about the new challenge of the Slovenian Tourist Board and Bank of Tourism Potentials in Slovenia? On the platform Challenge:Future you can still submit your innovative ideas (deadline: 12 December). It's all about "Old stories 4 new adventures" and young people from all over the world take part.

Take care and stay tuned!