3rd Istrian Tourism Forum
The 3rd Istrian Tourism Forum took place on 4 December at the Belvedere Congress Centre, organised by the Municipality of Izola and the Izola Tourist Board. The event attracted more than 120 stakeholders from the tourism sector – accommodation providers, tourist guides, agencies, and representatives of the local community.
At the forum, the new Tourism Development Strategy of Izola was presented, forming an important part of the shared development direction under the umbrella brand Love Istria. The forum highlighted examples of good practices from Izola in involving the local community, recognised both at home and abroad.
At the forum, Gašpar Gašpar Mišič publicly presented the Vino & Svet 2027 project for the first time. The initiative, which received unanimous support from all four Istrian mayors, aims to symbolically connect Slovenian Istria with the world through a unique wine creation, blending 66 wines from around the globe into a single bottle. The project includes Slovenia’s cooperation with international partners in preparing a UNESCO nomination for wine as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity.
Participants were then given an insight into the work of the National Information Centre for Tourism (NiST) and the potential of using artificial intelligence in the development of tourism services. The final part of the forum emphasised the importance of green energy as a foundation for modern and sustainable tourism.
At the forum, Dean Kocjančič, Director of the Izola Tourist Board, presented what Love Istria represents today:
“Love Istria stands on four leading destinations: Ankaran, Koper, Izola, and Piran/Portorož, which together offer 32,000 permanent beds and record 1,000,000 tourist arrivals and 3,200,000 overnight stays per year, resulting in 6,000,000 EUR of tourist tax revenue. At the core of all this are the people who live and work here and who believe in the shared story.”
In cooperation with the Primorska Chamber of Commerce, the forum hosted a workshop aimed at strengthening cross-border ties between Slovenian Istria and the Trieste area. The well-attended workshop enabled connections between tourism providers from both sides of the border. At the same time, representatives of local authorities held a constructive discussion on the possibilities of establishing better public transport connections between Trieste and Slovenian Istria.
After previous editions in Koper, Piran and this year in Izola, the next forum will be hosted by the fourth municipality in the Love Istria network – the Municipality of Ankaran – further strengthening the joint efforts for a more connected, sustainable and competitive tourism region of Istria.
