Jana Apih, Managing Director of GoodPlace in Ljubljana, in this interview tells us about Slovenia’s journey towards tourism sustainability and how the country’s sustainable tourism strategy, including the Slovenia Green destination certification initiative, has benefited the destination’s competitiveness and reputation.
This interview first appeared on Sustainability Leaders United in December 2017. SLU ran as an independent platform from 2014 until 2025 and is now part of The Place Brand Observer.
Learn about:
- What brought Jana Apih to the topic of sustainable tourism;
- The most effective way to communicate sustainability in tourism;
- Which factors have been crucial for Slovenia’s success as a leading sustainable destination;
- How the Slovenia Green programme supports the country’s sustainable tourism strategy;
- How Ljubljana proactively deals with the potential threat of overtourism.
Jana, do you remember what brought you to working in tourism in the first place?
To be honest, it was more of a coincidence than a plan. I studied ethnology and social anthropology, which are not closely linked to tourism. But when I finished my studies, there was a job opening at the Slovenian Tourism Board and I seized the opportunity.
I could say that it was love at first sight and after a few months I knew that tourism is where I belong. It’s a perfect mix of understanding the way people think and behave, which always fascinated me, and understanding how the tourism “product” works. Bringing the two together is where magic happens and things move forward.
The other thing was that Slovenia at that time was a young country and we all were driven by feelings of pride at being able to promote the country which we all were fascinated to have.
What were your thoughts on “sustainable tourism” when you first started GoodPlace? And how has your view of the topic changed since?
Starting GoodPlace was, like probably most of my decisions, a very emotional one. I looked at many examples of businesses not run sustainably, which somehow pushed me to start thinking about the mechanisms that could change that.
Then I realised that in Slovenian tourism at that time you could already sense that the path was not clear. So I asked a number of people whom I respected to do something about it. In the end, 12 of us founded GoodPlace, which gave us proof that we were on the right track.
We also got big support from both the Ministry and the Tourism Board, and a really big group of partners. They all realised that sustainable tourism was the way Slovenia should develop its tourism.
As a result, we formed a partnership and developed a Green Scheme of Slovenian Tourism, owned by the Slovenian Tourism Board, of which we are an accredited partner.
Five years have passed since we started GoodPlace and I can say that the initial idea of developing a national frame for development of sustainable tourism was the right one. It led to the next step, again in partnership with the Slovenian Tourism Board, where we focus more and more on different topics of sustainability, trying to develop useful tools, such as on carrying capacities, visitor management and communication with visitors.
In your experience, which is the most effective way to communicate sustainability in connection with tourism businesses or destinations?
First of all, you have to be very honest with your visitors and avoid green-washing. Before you spread the word about being sustainable or green, you really need to be green.
This means that first you need to find out what your weaknesses and strengths are, and work from there. Certification programmes that guide you step by step can be a big help here. With action plans you should tackle the weaknesses and with communication plans you can use your strengths to communicate your competitive sustainability advantages.
We help our destinations in Slovenia to dig into their green DNA and come up with representative green stories. Just saying we are green, visit us does not do the trick.
People might even misunderstand this and not look at the statement as an advantage but rather a compulsion. What visitors seek are experiences that bring that green story closer to them and give them the opportunity to be part of it. Once that works, it is much easier to get the attention of the visitor.
In the case of Slovenia, we established a kind of cooperation body, a Consortium of all Slovenia Green Destinations, in order to build joint communication and promotion in partnership with the Slovenian Tourism Board. The Consortium provides the so-called green content to the Tourism Board, which then communicates it through its channels on international markets. And it works.
Which factors or challenges within the country might support or hinder a better, more responsible tourism in Slovenia?
The most important support comes from the top, both from the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, where the Tourism Directorate is based, and the Slovenian Tourism Board as the owner of the Slovenia Green programme. Both institutions understand sustainable development as the only development paradigm of Slovenian tourism.
This year a new strategy of Slovenian tourism was adopted with the title “Strategy for Sustainable Growth of Slovenian Tourism”. It means an even stronger implementation of sustainability aspects at all steps of development and on all levels.
The biggest challenge on national level is now the cooperation with other sectors. You cannot make important steps if sectors like infrastructure, agriculture or environment are not on the same page.
On the other hand, we are very happy that more and more destinations and suppliers are joining the Slovenia Green programme, which means that we have very strong support also on local levels. I am convinced that it is the result of national institutions giving a strong statement of support.
That said, we cannot succeed without strong cooperation between stakeholders at the local level. That is why, in the process of evaluation, destinations need to set up green teams involving private, public and civil sectors, and work together.
The sustainability action plans also need to be confirmed by municipality boards and funds have to be allocated. Only then can we change things.
Reflecting on the Slovenia Green programme so far, which would be your key insights, or lessons learned?
The most important is that it is a national programme, owned by the Slovenian Tourism Board. This gives it credibility on the one hand, and on the other it gives all Slovenia Green destinations and businesses a closer link to effective promotion. Without that I am sure it wouldn’t be as successful as it is.
The other very important thing is that when developing it, we didn’t come up with our own standards and tools, but we carefully studied what was already out there and was most in line with what we were looking for.
So the final solution for businesses was to endorse six existing certification programmes: Travelife, Green Globe, Green Key, EU Eco Label, Bio Hotels and EMAS, and to encourage accommodations and travel agencies to adopt one of these labels. That gives businesses freedom to choose the label that suits them best content-wise and financially. On top of the international label they also get the Slovenia Green certificate.
The system for destinations is a bit different. We use the Green Destinations Standard, following steps from the European Tourism Indicator System and some additional national characteristics.
With that approach we do not need to constantly develop and adapt the standard. We also use their platform for uploading relevant documents and final evaluation. Last but not least, using an international standard gives our destinations the opportunity to benchmark against other destinations from around the globe.
My main suggestion to any regional or national authority developing tourism sustainability programs is not to develop something from scratch, since it will be very costly, far less effective and globally less recognised.
Which key themes or trends do you think will dominate the agenda of sustainable tourism professionals?
I think we stepped away from talking about the importance of sustainability as a development paradigm and are now more and more concentrating on the role of our visitors. Tourism is driven by demand and only with in-depth understanding of our visitors can we participate in that game.
For the last couple of years, we have been hearing only about the demand for sharing economy and the wish of travelling like a local. But if you look at the agendas of conferences today, it is all about overtourism.
I cannot shake off the feeling that the two are closely connected. If we are talking about local experiences and bringing tourists to parts of the cities which were just yesterday more or less owned by locals, it cannot come as a surprise that those locals will maybe not be so very happy with the idea that tourists would like to meet them.
Even worse, tourists are slowly pushing the locals from their favourite cafes and restaurants. It is not uncommon now to find posts in restaurants saying “don’t rate us on TripAdvisor”.
In the end, we shouldn’t be that surprised that the locals are less and less satisfied or even tolerant with tourism. So I believe the question is how far we can actually go with trying to grant every wish of a tourist, especially if at the expense of local residents.
What protective measures should popular destinations adopt to avoid overtourism becoming a threat to their reputation and long-term competitiveness?
I’m sure that the answer lies in proper management and communication. Understanding what is going on in your destination at any given time is crucial. That means not only following the numbers of overnight stays, but also understanding daily flows, dispersion of visitors in the destination, dispersion throughout the year, expectations of visitors and also expectations of the locals.
We must keep in mind that any city’s primary function is to suit the needs of its residents. Only when we have an in-depth picture and understand the key issues of concern can we do something about it.
I believe that growth is not the enemy and that tourism is a very positive sector, bringing far more opportunities than threats. And those need to be addressed smartly and in cooperation with all stakeholders.
We work closely with Ljubljana, which for the first time this year faced some warnings from residents. Tourism Ljubljana responded by carrying out extensive research, asking inhabitants of the old town, the most visited area, about their thoughts on tourism. Results showed that every 10th inhabitant thought Ljubljana was overcrowded. But what was interesting, far more people would say that they like Ljubljana more when it was full rather than empty.
Even though the percentage of people who felt that tourism could become a problem was relatively low, the DMO started developing new approaches on how to integrate the offers of surrounding towns and municipalities, how to introduce and develop new sights, thematic products and happenings in parts of Ljubljana which were up to now touristically underdeveloped, and how to involve inhabitants in tourism products.
Which businesses or destinations around the world have served as inspiration this year?
There are so many inspiring examples around the globe so it’s not so easy to pick just one. But since at the moment we are focusing a lot on issues of visitor management and involvement of visitors, I could mention Iceland.
I think that the idea with the Icelandic pledge of motivating and educating visitors about their role in sustainability is a good example. Being supported with a fun academy makes it interesting to the visitors and hopefully it will have a positive influence on their behaviour.
Your three bits of advice to entrepreneurs eager to develop their business around responsible tourism products and services?
The first would definitely be follow your dreams and be passionate about what you do. I’m sure that if it comes from your heart and you really believe in what you are doing, you will be successful.
The second advice would be be honest and fair, and don’t take the shortcuts which would affect the level of your product. The consumer has really high expectations. Disappointing them will create more problems.
Tourism is a very hard job. We are selling dreams which are a very intimate and important part of our clients. And for that dream we are not asking just money but also time, which in many cases can be even more valuable. The responsibility on our shoulders is therefore huge.
Therefore, to fulfil that task, we need to be innovative, playful and always in search of new ideas. Try to surprise your customer, give them a feeling of being special.
Thank you, Jana.
Connect with Jana Apih on LinkedIn.
