Special Partner 2012

The Heart of Slovenia – Partner of the 2012 Alpe-Adria Show

The Heart of Slovenia, a rounded region in the shape of the heart with the geometric centre of Slovenia GEOSS as the central point of the area, will participate at the largest tourism trade show in Slovenia, the 2012 Alpe-Adria: Tourism and Leisure Show, as a partner region. The Show, which represents and important junction of key tourism actors, will take place in January of the coming year at the Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre.

The Heart of Slovenia connects people with big hearts from the base of Kamniške Mountains to the hills of Dolenjska and from the eastern hillsides of Ljubljana to the flats of Posavje. Formally, the Developmental partnership of the centre of Slovenia connects 10 municipalities: Dol pri Ljubljani, Domžale, Kamnik, Litija, Lukovica, Mengeš, Moravče, Radeče, Šmartno pri Litiji and Zagorje ob Savi, the entire region is even wider and includes the area of 17 municipalities. This year, the municipalities of Ivančna Gorica and Šentrupert will join the development partnership.

The Heart of Slovenia is a parent trademark under which individual projects are successfully developing and being executed. Alongside the wider connection under a common trademark, fresh ideas are sprouting, new partners are joining and new projects are establishing. Through its operation, the trademark covers 3 key areas: our environment, entrepreneurship and tourism. The guiding vision of the trademark is an increase of the creative potential of the space and the quality of life.

The Heart of Slovenia is located at the true centre of Slovenia, in the green surroundings of the capital, with a strong and recognisable pulse, under a common trademark offering attractive, connected and authentic and heartfelt adventures in tune with nature, health and tradition, for a few hours, a day or a number of days. The emphasis is on active and healthy leisure - active and in nature, but also including production and consumption of healthy, local and ecologically produced food.

The region will present itself at the Alpe-Adria Show with its leading tourist products for adventures lasting for a few hours, a day or a few days. These include trips, health and relaxation, recreation, events and business meetings in the Heart of Slovenia.

Opportunities for exploration are numerous in the Heart of Slovenia. Seek out villages with standing tradition and rich history, archaeological finds, numerous chapels and mighty castles, old houses and granaries and museum collections. Experience the legacy of our grandparents; visit restored farms, open-air museums, typical hayracks and vineyard cottages. You can explore all this on foot, cycling, by train or by car.

You can spend the night in the Heart of Slovenia – in hotels, spas, traditional inns or in a more unusual way, for example in the hayloft of a tourist farm. You can taste the flavourful home-cooked food, wines, juices or spirits and take time to chat with the hospitable locals.

The offer of the region will be coordinated by the Litija Development Centre, as the coordinator of the group presentation of the municipalities at the Alpe-Adria: Tourism and Leisure 2012 Show, the Centre will present the offer to the local and foreign public. The Heart of Slovenia has been presenting itself at the largest Slovenian tourist show for a number of years. During 2011, the exhibition space of the Heart of Slovenia presented over the 4 days over 300 performers from the region, together with coordinators, the Litija Development Centre managed to connect 42 different organizations. Special recognition of our efforts was expressed by the organizers, which invited the heart of Slovenia as a partner region of the next year’s Show.

Aleksandra Gradišek, Director of the Litija Development Centre believes that »The Alpe-Adria: Tourism and Leisure Show is a unique opportunity for the heart of Slovenia to present itself as a different destination in the Slovenian space. We are building upon actual connections of different tourist and economic actors in a new, innovative and thematically rich manner.«