top sustainable destination
Ljubljana continues to receive awards for its sustainable practices. The latest one was granted today by the European Commission in scope of ETIS and Accessible Tourism Awards held in Brussels. The newly received award ranks Ljubljana among the top sustainable destinations in Europe.
The European Tourism Indicator System (ETIS) was launched by the European Commission in 2013, with the objective to provide a measuring and monitoring tool for destinations wanting to adopt a sustainable management approach and to enhance their sustainability performances. It was designed to be a tool which any destination can pick up and use voluntarily, without any specific training.
The 2016 awards that were due to the terrorist attacks in Brussels in March rescheduled to 22 April 2016, identified destinations that have been testing the European Tourism Indicators System (ETIS) and achieved good results. Awards were given to destinations focusing particularly on accessible tourism. Ljubljana was awarded in the category Environment and accessibility as a basis for sustainable and responsible development.
The commission was convencedby the “green opportunities” for public transport highlighting the popular system or rent-a-bike BicikeLJ and electric vehicles Kavalir that offer free transport for residents and guests throughout the extended pedestrian areas. The European Commission has also complimented the number of parks and recreational green areas and praised green vision for the development of Slovenian tourism and the project Slovenia Green, which was conceived by the Slovenian Tourist Board and Factory of sustainable tourism GoodPlace.
The project has demonstrated both strong and weak points of the destination. Tourism Ljubljana immediately after receiving the results teamed up with partners and successfully tackled solving shortcomings: green supply chains and certified sustainable accommodation; active approach to tackling the problems was identified by the European Commission.