Slovenia hopes to entice more charter traffic to the destination as a result of hosting next year’s Abta Travel Convention.
The country hosted its first major UK travel trade event in May when Lake Bled (pictured) played host to The Travel Network Group.
Last month Abta announced that its capital Ljubljana had been chosen to host the 2014 Travel Convention next September when around 600 industry delegates will be given the chance to sample the country.
The destination was delighted when Inghams put on a charter flight from the UK earlier this year but hopes to have more, as well as low-cost airline capacity.
Bojan Meden, sales promotion executive at Spirit Slovenija, a public agency that works with the Slovenian Tourist Board, said the convention was a great opportunity to put Slovenia on the radar of the UK travel trade.
He said: “We have to be realistic; we are a small country and we can’t come with a very strong advertisement campaign convincing all possible clients to come to Slovenia.
“But bringing the most important tour operators and tourism professionals to Slovenia to explore a little bit and to do their work at the annual convention is a great and very efficient way to convince them about the destination.
“We hope this will encourage them to put Slovenia in their programmes. Why not? We are sure it can a new business opportunity for some of them.”
Meden said the feedback from visitors is that Slovenia exceeds expectations, with a strong reputation as a destination for visitors seeking activities such as golf and hiking, and the country is keen to attract a younger clientele of adrenaline-seekers and adventure travellers.
Ljubljana is being touted as an alternative city break destination to Prague and the country is also considered a gateway to the wider region.