Bled Strategic Forum focuses on the Challenges of a Collaborative Economy in Tourism

The participants in the tourist panel were greeted by Maja Pak, MSc, the director of the Slovenian Tourist Board, who commented that platforms like AirBnB are successful "because they started offering special and different experiences, unique and authentic experiences, and they made it possible for guests to approach the local population, which is something that modern tourists are increasingly searching for. The world is changing rapidly and new realities are here and now. Certainly, the cooperative economy, which was initially associated only with backpackers, has now grown into billions of euros worth of business, which has a growing influence on existing tourism providers. I believe that the growth of the new platforms of the cooperative economy will continue if they remain faithful to their basic mission – to experience the destination with and as a local population."

The tourism panel was attended by renowned national and foreign experts: Manolis Psarros, Director of Toposophy and Destination Management and Marketing Consultant; Christian de Barrin, Director of HOTREC (Hotels, Restaurants and Cafés in Europe); Carlos Villaro Lassen, Secretary General of EHHA (European Holiday Home Association); Daniela Wagner, Director for PATA Europe, the Middle East and Africa (Pacific Asia Travel Association) and Head of Strategic International Business Development for the Travel Weekly Group; Klemens Himpele, Head of Department for Economic Relations, Labour and Statistics MD 23 Vienna City; and Dr Janja Hojnik from the Faculty of Law of the University of Maribor.

The tourism panel was organised by the STB and MGRT. The panel was followed by the culinary experience of Taste Slovenia with Ano Roš, the best female chef in the world and an ambassador of Slovenian tourism.

You can read more about the event at the Bled Strategic Forum on the official website here.

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