Slovenian tourism flourishes: foreign guest numbers and overnight stays surge in the first half of the year

Slovenia's tourism soared in the first half of 2023 with 6% more arrivals and 4% more overnight stays compared to last year. Foreign guests led the growth, with 39% more arrivals and 32% more overnight stays, just 1% below the 2019 level. Domestic guest arrivals dropped by a third compared to the same period last year when tourist vouchers were available, but they generated more overnight stays.

Slovenian tourism nears pre-pandemic levels: Domestic and foreign guests' ratio of stays & arrivals improves (29:71) (32:68)

By the end of June, Slovenia welcomed?a significant number of foreign guests from Germany, with almost 250,000 arrivals - more than a quarter higher than the previous year. German guests also dominated in terms of overnight stays, generating almost 651,000, accounting for 10% of all overnight stays or 15% of all foreign overnight stays. Tourists from Italy also showed remarkable growth, with 218,000 Italian guests arriving - nearly 60% more than in the first half of the previous year. Guests from Austrian ranked third with a 25% increase from the same period last year. Both German and Austrian markets also surpassed 2019 levels, while Italian tourist numbers remained 12% behind.

In the first half of the year,?mountain municipalities?saw the highest number of overnight stays, followed by spa and seaside municipalities, with Ljubljana recording a 28% increase in overnight stays.

According to the European Travel Commission (ETC),?European tourism's recovery is ongoing, with international tourist arrivals reaching approximately 95% of the 2019 level. Furthermore, a quarter of European destinations have surpassed their pre-pandemic levels in terms of foreign tourist arrivals.

• 2.5 million arrivals and 6.3 million overnight stays in first half of the year
• Germany dominates the foreign tourist market share
• Mountain municipalities with the most overnight stays

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