Velenje, December 5th 2018

Tourism in Slovenia is blossoming! But it’s also true that foreign tourists in Slovenia are mostly attracted by the best-known tourist gems such as Bled, Ljubljana castle, Postojna cave, Piran… With the show “SLOVENIA’S HIDDEN GEMS” Radio SI wanted to point out that there are more excellent locations and tourist offers and experiences and attractions in our small country. Offers that visitors from abroad should not miss in order to feel the rich pulse of tradition, culinary offers, culture and other innovative approaches in tourism in Slovenia.

The competition on Radio SI highlighted excellent tourist packages and products that offer the best of Slovenia’s diverse regions — from eastern Prekmurje to the coastal region of Primorska — and ran throughout 2018. The foreign-language team of Radio SI uncovered hidden tourist gems that remain unknown to the numerous tourists visiting Slovenia. Altogether 18 potentially overlooked but exceptional tourist packages from all over Slovenia were presented in 2018. As part of the show, 18 foreign couples living, working or studying in Slovenia (members of Radio Si’s International Club) tested these packages and shared their experiences on the English-language show and also on the website www.sloveniashiddengems.si. On this website you can listen to all the shows and find pictures and texts about the tourist packages.

The selection of providers was made by Radio SI and the listeners who voted for the suggested offers. At the end of the competition, listeners and visitors of the website voted from October 15^th to November 15^th among the 18 finalists and chose three winners, who at our final ceremony in Vila Bianca were given the prize “Slovenia’s hidden gem 2018”.

 All finalists received a certificate of recognition and pottery from the craft center Slovenska Bistrica.

The prize for 3rd place goes to the one-day tourist package GOURMET OVER MURA, which involves a comprehensive experience of the Pomurje region. There you can lose yourself in the tastes of Prekmurje culinary specialties and the top-quality wines of the region. Šunkarna Kodila, the winery Marof, and the Rajh restaurant have teamed up with other providers of the region to create a culinary-tourist package – a true Prekmurje gourmet experience.

The prize for 2nd place goes to the tourist package LAŠKO CRAFT BEER EXPERIENCE. A week is barely enough to experience this spa and brewery town. But even if you come for just a day, it will be more than just a simple visit. That’s why you’re more than welcome to carefully plan your next trip around this area of green surprises, cultural specialties, secret traditions and exciting getaways.

The prize for 1st place goes to the tourist package MEDITERRANEAN FLAVORS OF SLOVENIAN ISTRIA of the Butul Homestead from Manžan above Koper, where everything is set around their world famous herbal garden, offering more than 50 varieties of herbs. Their guests can also enjoy the scents of the vast plains and charms of the Mediterranean, and be introduced to the olive tree and its oil, Malvasia and Refosco wines, as well as excellent local food.

Based on the excellent response to the Slovenia’s Hidden Gems project among providers and foreigners, as well as our radio listeners, the team at Radio Si is already preparing to continue their work in 2019. This time around, they would like to introduce 14 packages of Slovenia’s most attractive tourist offers to visitors from abroad. To that end, we’re asking providers and listeners to propose new unique locations and tourist packages that are a must for foreign tourists.

Photo: Peter Kopše Pišec

Zaključen je že 27. izbor najboljših slovenskih smučišč

Maribor, 12. april – Že 27. zapovrstjo so danes v Gradu Rače podelili nazive »Naj smučišče« najboljšim smučiščem v smučarski sezoni 2017/2018. Dolga sezona je prinesla veliko glasov in zmagovalce v petih različnih kategorijah. Za »Naj smučišča« so bili letos ocenjena smučišča RTC Jakec Trije kralji, Kope, Smučarski center Cerkno, Snežni park Rogla ter italijansko smučišče Kronplatz. Tudi tokrat je predstavitev smučišč potekala vso sezono v radijski oddaji »Dobro jutro, Slovenija«,  ki jo lahko slišite na  slovenskih radijskih postajah in z ocenjevanjem na spletnem portalu www.najsmucisce.si.

Zelo dolga, bogata zima, ki se na nekaterih smučiščih še sploh ni zaključila, je prinesla veliko možnosti za snežne užitke in tudi za množico oddanih glasov za naziv »Naj smučišče«. Tudi letos je radijska ekipa oddaje Dobro jutro Slovenija obiskovala različna smučišča in preverjala,  kakšne so razmere na progah, kako je poskrbljeno za varnost, katere so morebitne novosti, kakšne so cene smučarskih vozovnic in kako je poskrbljeno za dodatno animacijo ter zabavo tako najmlajših, kot tudi starejših. Slovenski smučarji pa so lahko na spletni strani  www.najsmucisce.si vso sezono oddajali svoje glasove in izbirali najboljše. Že pred tremi leti so akcijo še nadgradili in začeli izbirati tudi »Top ski resort« – za Slovence najbolj priljubljen smučarski center v tujini. Glasovalci so lahko izbirali med smučišči v petih kategorijah: mala, srednja in velika smučišča, tuja smučišča ter snežni parki.

V kategoriji malih smučarskih centrov je tokrat zmagovalec smučišče RTC Jakec Trije kralji, na drugem mestu je SKI BOR Črni vrh, na tretjem mestu pa je Mojstrana. Med srednje velikimi smučišči je največ glasov tokrat dobil smučarski center Kope, na drugem mestu so Golte in na tretjem Soriška planina.

V kategoriji velikih smučišč je zmagovalec po izboru glasovalcev postal Smučarski center Cerkno, na drugem mestu je smučišče Vogel, na tretjem pa Kanin.

Snežni park Rogla je zmagovalec v kategoriji snežnih parkov . Na drugem mestu je po oceni smučarjev pristal Snežni park Vogel, na tretjem pa Snežni park Krvavec.

Slovenci radi zahajamo na tuja smučišča in zato so tokrat že četrtič zapovrstjo izbirali tudi med nam bližjimi tujimi smučišči. Tokrat je največ glasov dobilo smučišče v italijanskih Dolomitih, Kronplatz, na drugem mestu je smučišče Mokrine / Nassfeld in na tretjem Sella Nevea.

Vsi zmagovalni smučarski centri so prejeli kristalna priznanja Steklarne Rogaška.

V prihajajočem poletju bo radijska ekipa kot vsako leto predstavljala tudi slovenska kopališča in s pomočjo kopalcev poiskala »Naj kopališče 2018«.

Foto: Peter Kopše Pišec