Slovene Istria. A sustainable “green” destination in the making, traversed by a cultural route

Slovenia, with around two million inhabitants and an area of just over 20,000 km2, is a relatively small country that is mainly mountainous or hilly, with a portion of plain in the east, towards the border with Hungary. It has had over a thousand years of dramatic and turbulent history. Despite repeated destruction, as well as recent extended land use, it has maintained numerous pre-existing historic territorial configurations and large areas of countryside, to the extent that it is often referred to and marketed as “Green Slovenia”. Overall, it is a very varied nation, and, at the same time, it is rich in resources and tourist attractions of different kinds. Slovenia – which is almost rectangular in shape, with a protuberance in the northeast in the Drava and Mura Statistical Regions – constitutes, within Europe, an important crossroads for transit towards: – the East, with Hungary and the rest of Eastern Europe; – the South, with Croatia and the Balkans; – the North, with Austria and Central Europe; – the West, with Italy. This position is confirmed by foreign tourism, which has developed greatly since the Second World War. Practically all of Slovenia is on dry land. Of its 212 municipalities, only Ankaran, Izola, Koper and Piran are on the (Adriatic) coast. These will be the subject of this dissertation. Having been amply involved in seaside tourism since World War II, they have now also opened up to cultural tourism. Tourism has recently also affected their immediate rural hinterland, in ways that are becoming ever more diverse. The various stakeholders – also in view of the considerable urbanisation that has involved all of the coastal belt – are dealing with the problem of sustainability, partly by adhering to the conceptions of destination governance and destination management (DM). Moreover, they are aware of the need to involve the local area in the light of the concept/instrument of a Heritage Trail. The European QNeST (Quality Network on Sustainable Tourism, https://application.qnest.eu/) project is an example and application thereof.