On February the 1st, the main fair for tourism – the 31st Alpe-Adria, the international fair for green and active tourism and camping and caravanning – ended at the GR – Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre. It featured 350 exhibitors from 13 countries. The GASTexpo – Fairs of Tastes have traditionally been held at the same time, with over 20,000 people attending both events in four days. We are pleased that the visibility of the main tourism fair in our country has been increasing year by year.
The events on the exhibition grounds were accompanied by the rich program with travel lectures, presentations of new tourism products, round tables and consultations on current issues in tourism.
One of the main topics was gastronomic tourism. The Slovenian Tourist Board prepared a round table in the light of the title Slovenia, European Gastronomic Region 2021. Also within the projectThe Slovenia Restaurant Awards, it was discussed about the challenges of maximizing the visibility of our rich gastronomic heritage.
The second highlight of this year’s fair for active and green tourism is the last year’s novelty – the camping and caravanning topic. Nine companies presented their offer on sale in the Steklena and the additional hall and on the outer platform. More than 30 new and used holiday vehicles were on display. This year’s enrichment was the market – the purchase and sale of used vehicles. At the meeting of the Network of Motorhome Stopovers, they discussed the challenges that investors face when building such stops.
The third highlight of this year’s fair focused on cultural tourism. At the I Feel Slovenia showcase, under the umbrella of the Slovenian Tourist Board, old Slovenian cities are presented by theAssociation of Historic Towns of Slovenia.
At the opening ceremony, we presented the Jakob – Fair Award for the innovative tourism content and programs in castles and mansions that was awarded to the Posavje Castles.
Lively happenings with dance, music, presentations of customs and habits, displays of ancient crafts are presented annually by the local associations of the Slovenian Tourist Board in the Stebrna Hall. At the High School Market, more than 50 schools from Slovenia and abroad presented their local tourist offer. At the More Knowledge for More Tourism Festival they acknowledged best ideas for local souvenirs.
Of course, there is no central tourist fair and cannot be without an offer for active tourism. Last but not least, the fair thread is sustainable as well. The Slovenian Tourist Board presented the current calls for sustainability to be awarded the Slovenia Green label. At the EXPO Dubai 2020 Round Table, key project team spoke about the role that Slovenia will play as a sustainable country at the Dubai international exhibition.
“The fair is therefore a unique opportunity for a Slovenian tourist to discover and recognize how diverse and authentic the green, healthy and active Slovenia is; and how attractive foreign destinations can be for a longer escape. The goal is the way, they say. The first goal along the way is the fair, “said the director of the GR – Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre, Mr. Iztok Bricl, MSc.
This year, too, the fair has received a very good media response; the posts are still being published. The Media Centre has accredited over 130 media representatives in four days. With the digital media promotion agency, we have achieved enviable results. The posts on the fair’s Facebook page reached over 280,000 users, and the invitation to the fair has been shown over 3 million times during the Google campaign. As the supplement to the daily Dnevnik Newspaper , we have published an attractive and interesting fair catalogue Holidays in 28,700 copies.
The next 32nd Alpe-Adria Trade Fair will be held from the 27th to the 30th of January 2021.
www.alpeadria.si