Slovenian Tourism Statistics Â– Overnight Stays through the End of November 2008 Up 1% over 2007

(EMAILWIRE.COM, January 24, 2009 ) Slovenia - In the first eleven months of 2008, tourist accommodation facilities registered 1% more overnight stays and 3% more tourist arrivals than in 2007. The number of domestic and foreign visitors in this period went up 6% and 1%, respectively. A 7-percent drop in tourist arrivals and in overnight stays was registered in November 2008 over November 2007. Despite November's downward trend in tourist arrivals and overnight stays, the overall results for Slovenian tourism remain positive.

SORS provisional data revealed that Slovenian accommodation facilities registered a 12-percent drop in foreign visitors and a 1-percent increase in domestic visitors in November 2008 as against the same month in 2007. The statistics are again consistent with global tourism forecasts, which predict a growing interest in spending holidays in the home country.

The number of Italian tourists in the first eleven months of 2008 remains at the same level as it was in 2007, but the number of overnight stays dropped 2%. Both in terms of tourist arrivals and overnight stays, Italy remained the leading outgoing market for Slovenian tourism. In the period from January to end of November 2008, the number of German tourists went down 7%, generating 9% fewer overnight stays than in the same period in 2007. The number of German tourists and their overnight stays declined 1% in November 2008 over November 2007. The impact of the financial crisis is also evident in the number of Austrian tourists and the number of overnight stays they generated. In the first eleven months of 2008, the number of Austrian tourists dropped 7%, while overnight stays went down 9%. In November 2008, we registered 12% fewer Austrian tourists, who generated 10% fewer overnight stays over the same period the year before. All three markets making up the Benelux subregional market generated fewer tourist arrivals in November 2008; however, the annual statistics remain positive: Belgium +9%, The Netherlands +8%, Luxembourg +9%.

In the first eleven months, including in November, upward trends in tourist arrivals were recorded from the following markets: Croatia +2% from January to November and +3% in November; Serbia +15% in the first eleven months and +8% in November; Japan +58% up until November and +33% in November; Ukraine +51% up until November and +39% in November; and Poland +20% up until November and +5% in November. A 5-percent drop in the number of tourists from the Russian Federation was registered in November 2008 over November 2007, but the overall number of Russian tourists measured on an annual basis was up 33% compared to 2007. Also registered in November was a 41-percent drop in the number of tourists from Hungary, but the overall statistics for the JanuaryÂ–November 2008 period over 2007 remain positive (+4%). A similar situation was recorded with tourists from the Czech Republic, where tourist arrivals went up 6% by the end of November and down 21% in November alone compared to 2007.

###

This press release was issued through GroupWeb EmailWire.Com. For more information on unlimited SEO press release distribution for $99/month, go to http://www.emailwire.com

Slovenian Tourist Board
Tina Kriznar
+386 1 5891 845
tina.kriznar@slovenia.info