SloveniaGuides: Our Commitment to Community-Based Tourism or How your visit can
support the people who call Slovenia home
A memorable journey connects you with a place and its people. At Sloveniaguides.si, we
believe it should also contribute to the community welcoming you.
Slovenia is our home. The places we introduce are places where we live, work, raise our
families and build our futures. That gives us a responsibility to consider how our experiences
affect everyday life here, today and in the years ahead.
Our approach draws on the principles of community-based tourism: meaningful local
participation, respect for culture and livelihoods, and tourism benefits that remain within the
community. We put these principles into practice through our choice of guides, our
partnerships and the stories we share.
Local guides with a personal connection
Our tourist guides are certified tourist guides - local people who live in the areas they represent.
Their knowledge comes from professional training and research, enriched by everyday experience
of their communities.
Alongside history, natural and cultural heritage, they introduce the living destination: its
neighbourhoods, local concerns, family traditions and changing ways of life.
Whenever possible, our guides reach their assignments on foot, by bicycle or by public transport.
These everyday choices help reduce the environmental impact of our work andreflect how
we move around our own communities.
Local businesses and the people behind
them
During our experiences, we introduce local businesses and the people whose work gives
them character.
A bakery, workshop, café or farm has a story beyond the products it sells. It may be a family
enterprise carrying knowledge between generations, a young person’s first business or a
livelihood that allows a family to remain in its hometown.
Where business owners wish to share their stories, we help visitors understand the care, skills and
personal commitment behind their work. We respect their privacy and their right to decide what
they share.
By connecting visitors with local products and services, we help tourism spending reach the people
who live here. We want these encounters to create lasting value for local businesses as well as
meaningful memories for our guests.
Responsible business contributes to
everyday life
Our responsibility also includes how we conduct our business.
Paying taxes and social security contributions is part of contributing to the society in which we
operate. These payments help fund public healthcare, education, pensions, infrastructurea and
support for people facing difficult circumstances.
For visitors, these systems may be less visible than Slovenia’s landscapes and historic buildings.
For residents, they are essential to quality of life. Publicly funded education—including tuition-free
opportunities for eligible students on bachelor’s and master’s programmes—is one example of the
shared opportunities this contribution helps sustain.
We see responsible tourism as part of this wider relationship: a successful visitor economyshould
help support a good place to live.
Connecting generations, sharing knowledge
A strong local community creates opportunities for young people while valuing the knowledge and
experience of older generations.
We encourage cooperation across generations, giving experienced local people opportunities to
proudly share their skills, stories and insights with younger colleagues. This exchangehelps keep local
knowledge alive, carries traditions forward and makes room for fresh ideas.
We involve young people as they take their first steps into working life and entrepreneurship, helping
them gain experience, build confidence and develop professional connections. Younger generations, in turn,
contribute new perspectives and skills, creating opportunitiesfor mutual learning.
Every generation has something valuable to offer. Through tourism, we want to createopportunities for people
of different ages to learn from one another, work together and helpshape the future of their communities.
Supporting people facing hardship
The benefits of tourism should reach beyond those who work directly with visitors.
Our commitment includes financial support for initiatives assisting people in vulnerablecircumstances,
including people experiencing homelessness.
We approach this support with respect for people’s dignity. Community wellbeing matters throughout the
year, including in parts of society that visitors may never encounter.
Respecting the places we visit
Every destination is someone’s home. Streets, markets and squares are shared spaces where
people work, rest, shop and go about their daily lives.
We take this into account when planning and leading our experiences. We consider wheregroups stop,
how much space they occupy and how our presence affects residents and local businesses. We encourage
thoughtful behaviour and help guests understand local customs andexpectations.
Listening to local people is an essential part of this approach. Tourism can support a community
only when its needs and limits are taken seriously.
Working towards a lasting positive
contribution
For us, sustainable tourism is a continuing responsibility. It requires us to reflect on ourchoices,
listen to our partners and improve how we work.
Our ambition also embraces regenerative tourism: finding ways for visits to contributepositively
to the places and communities involved. That contribution may support locallivelihoods, help
preserve knowledge and heritage or strengthen a community initiative.
We recognise that meaningful progress depends on cooperation. Local residents, businesses,
tourist guides and destination organisations all need a voice in shaping tourism’s future.
When you explore Slovenia with us, you
meet people who care about itsfuture—
because it is our future too.
Thank you for choosing SloveniaGuides to discover Slovenia in a way that supports
the people who call it home.
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