On 20 May, Slovenia celebrates the first ever World Bee Day

Last December in New York, the General Assembly of the United Nations declared May 20 a World Bee Day. This was made on the initiative of Slovenia and Slovenian Beekeepers’ Association, who picked this date because this is the birthday of Anton Janša (1734-1773), the founder of modern beekeeping and because May is also the month when the development of bees in the Northern hemisphere is in full swing: bee colonies swarm, engaging in their natural way of reproduction. In the Southern hemisphere, bee products are harvested in May – it is the time of autumn there.

The World Bee Day highlights the importance of preserving bees and their role in the lives of humans. The first ever celebration will take place in Žirovnica, in Upper Carniola, on 20 May 2018. In addition, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food will also organize a ministerial conference on the topic of bees on May 19 in Brdo pri Kranju. About 30 agriculture ministers from all over the world are invited to attend the conference. The Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), José Graziano da Silva, also confirmed his participation. 

With the 20th of May 2018 marking the first ever World Bee Day, this is the perfect opportunity to explore many beekeeping attractions and api-adventures in Slovenia. For this purpose, the Slovenian Tourism Board, the Government Communication Office of Republic of Slovenia and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food organise a press trip, 17 – 21 May, which showcases the highlights of apitourism. Api-tourism is focused on a sustainable approach to tourism, promoting green destinations, travel and apiculture, which is in line with the general orientation of Slovenia as a tourist destination: to be considered green, active and healthy destination for boutique, 5* experiences.

Slovenia is a proud beekeeping nation. Beekeeping is one of Slovenia’s oldest traditions and today it is home over 10,000 beekeepers, 12,500 apiaries and nearly 170,000 hive colonies. Slovenia’s Carniolan honeybee is regarded as the second most widespread bee breeds in the world, and we are the only EU Member State to have protected our native bee species. 

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