Slovenian Tourism on a Steady Path of Sustainable Growth

Additionally, Slovenia welcomed 4.8 million arrivals, which marks a 6.2 percent increase over 2023 and a 5.9 percent increase compared to 2019. The average length of stay during the first eight months of 2024 was 2.6 nights, with August seeing an even higher average of 2.8 overnight stays.

After disastrous floods hit Slovenia in August last year, significantly affecting tourist visits, an increase in both arrivals and overnight stays was recorded this August. A total of 1.18 million tourist arrivals and almost 3.27 million overnight stays were counted. Compared to August 2023, an increase in arrivals of 18% and overnight stays of 14% was observed.

Positive data were also reported for the period from January to the end of August 2024, showing nearly 4.8 million tourist arrivals, which is 6% more than in the first eight months of last year, and 12.5 million overnight stays, representing a 4% increase. An increase in arrivals was recorded for both domestic and foreign guests; however, a decrease of 1% in overnight stays by domestic guests was noted, while a 6% increase in overnight stays by foreigners was observed compared to the comparable period last year.

When compared to the pre-coronavirus year of 2019, a 7% increase in the number of overnight stays and a 6% increase in tourist arrivals were reported from January to August 2024. In the domestic market, overnight stays remained the same as in the comparable period of 2019, but a decrease of 1.5% in arrivals was noted. Among foreign guests, an increase of 8% in arrivals and a 9% increase in overnight stays were recorded compared to the same period in 2019.

German Tourists Drive Record Growth in Overnight Stays

A total of 1.52 million overnight stays by tourists from Germany was recorded this year, which is 33% more than from January to August 2019. High growth compared to the same period in 2019 was also achieved in the markets of the Visegrad Group, with increases noted in the Czech Republic (+36%), Hungary (+23%), Poland (+58%), and Slovakia (+51%). Other notable increases were observed from the Netherlands (+11%), Belgium (+10%), France (+38%) and Croatia (+27%).

After German guests, the largest number of overnight stays in the first eight months was made by tourists from Italy and Austria, followed by visitors from the Netherlands and the Czech Republic.

A comparison with the period from January to August last year showed that the number of overnight stays by German tourists increased by 3%. The overnight stays generated by Italian tourists were approximately the same (775,137) as last year, which is about 15% less than in the eight months of 2019. The Austrian market recorded a growth of 4% compared to last year and 1% compared to 2019 (698,839). In the Dutch market (583,492), a growth of 2% compared to the previous year and 11% compared to 2019 was noted, while the number of overnight stays by Czech tourists (577,349) increased by 4% compared to the same period last year and by 36% compared to 2019.

Spas for Locals, Mountains for Foreigners

From January to August, the most overnight stays by domestic tourists were recorded in spas (38%) and seaside municipalities (26.5%), while foreign tourists predominantly stayed in mountain municipalities (37.5%) and Ljubljana (18%). An increase in the number of overnight stays was noted for all types of municipalities, except for urban ones (-4.2%).

Slovenia Achieves Faster Tourism Recovery Than European and Global Averages

According to SURS data (UN Tourism methodology), 58,608 people are employed in tourism in Slovenia, representing 6.3% of all employees. In 2019, a contribution of 5.4% to the total GDP was made by tourism. It is estimated that the share of tourism in total added value and GDP in the post-pandemic period has already approached the level of 2019.

According to UNWTO, international arrivals in 2024 are nearing those of 2019. It was reported that only 4% fewer trips were made between January and July than in the same period in 2019, with a decline of just 1% in Europe. During the same timeframe, a growth of 4.4% in arrivals was recorded in Slovenia compared to 2019. It is forecasted that a full recovery from the pandemic will be achieved this year.

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