Co-operation Ireland's All-Island Local Authority Forum today launches its report, Be Inspired by International Best Practice: Sustainable Tourism Development in Slovenia, the outcome of a cross-border study visit to Slovenia undertaken in September 2025.
The report sets out a comprehensive set of recommendations, lessons, and actions for tourism bodies, local authorities, and government agencies across the island, informed by first-hand experience of Slovenia, a county widely recognised as one of the world's leading exemplars of sustainable destination management. The Forum commissioned the study visit as part of its ongoing work to strengthen cross-border collaboration and raise the bar for sustainable tourism practice for local government across the island. Facilitated by internationally renowned tourism consultant Professor Terry Stevens and Slovenian tourism strategist Miša Novak (ALOHAS Consulting), the delegation visited Ljubljana, Kranj, the Brdo Estate, Lake Bled, and Bohinj, as well as the joint Slovenian-Italian European Capital of Culture 2025, Nova Gorica/Gorizia, an inspiring "Borderless" model of cross-border cultural collaboration that resonated strongly with the Forum members and Co-operation Ireland’s mission.
Key Findings & Transferable Lessons
- A clear vision, consistently communicated at every level of government, industry, and community, is the foundation of Slovenia's success.
- Well-resourced local Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) — 38 across four macro-regions are critical to translating national strategy into local action.
- Slovenia's Green accreditation framework provides a practical, transferable model for embedding sustainability standards across a destination.
- Gastronomy, heritage, and outdoor experience are woven together to deliver distinctive, high-value tourism products, with hyper-local sourcing at the core.
- A national tourism intelligence platform (NiST) drives data-informed decision-making directly applicable to the island of Ireland context.
- The "Borderless" European Capital of Culture model between Slovenia and Italy offers a compelling blueprint for cross-border cultural and tourism initiatives on the island of Ireland.
- Investment in people through specialist colleges, the STO's tourism academy, and devolved staff responsibility underpins consistently high service standards.
Post-visit survey results by participants reflect an exceptionally positive response: 100% of participants agreed the visit aligned with their council's sustainability and tourism objectives. Crucially, every participant said they felt equipped to champion at least one new sustainable tourism initiative within their own council in the next 12 months.
Paula Madigan, Strategic Programme Manager at Co-operation Ireland, said: "For the Forum, the learning from Slovenia was directly relevant to its mission of supporting shared communities, building peace, and promoting sustainable development. The visit reaffirmed the importance of placing sustainability at the core of decision-making.”
The full report sets out a series of concrete, time-bound actions across multiple sectors and is now available to download from the Co-operation Ireland website, please click on the link.