A total of 17 tourism companies represented Slovenia at what was the 38th edition of the biggest tourism exhibition in South-eastern Europe.

The focus was on the country's spas and the Kranjska gora ski resort, the main partner of the Slovenia Tourism Board (STO) at the fair. Also highlighted was Ljubljana as the Green Capital of Europe in 2016.

STO officials described the number of visitors to the Slovenia stall and the interest of the Serbian media as exceeding expectations and expressed their conviction the effort would boost the number of Serbian visitors.

The view is shared by representatives from Kranjska gora as well as Economic Development and Technology Minister Zdravko Počivalšek, who visited the fair together with Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić on Thursday.

Serbian tourists are in 7th spot when it comes to overnight stays in Slovenian spas, accounting for 4%. They rank 8th on the list of foreign visitors to Ljubljana.

In terms of the number of tourist arrivals Serbia is the 5th most important market for Slovenia's tourism.

Slovenia is annually visited by around 85,000 tourists from Serbia, who generate more than 200,000 overnight stays.