The Slovenian capital Ljubljana, which owns a Slovenia Green Destination Gold certificate, is joined in the network by Idrija, Rogla-Zreče, Radlje ob Dravi, Cerkno, as well as Kamnik (silver certificates) and Laško, Žalec and Celje (bronze certificate).

Hotel Park in Ljubljana has meanwhile been given a Slovenia Green Accommodation certificate to join six other tourist facilities across the county, including spas Thermana Park Laško and Terme Snovik.

The hotel in the centre of the capital has joined the network by virtue of acquiring a Travelife certificate as the first hotel in Slovenia.

The STO has established the Slovenia Green scheme together with the GoodPlace sustainable tourism association, which is an accredited partner of the international organisation Green Destinations, while consulting experts from the industry.

The certificates were conferred at a ceremony in Ljubljana on Tuesday, at which Jana Apih of GoodPlace announced that the holders of the Slovenia Green title would establish a consortium in April to jointly develop projects and products.

STO acting director Maja Pak welcomed the plans to establish a consortium as a "partner in the creation of promotional activities" of Slovenian tourism, adding that such an approach could result in faster development of sustainable tourism.

According to her, the interest of providers to join the Slovenia Green scheme is "immense", which is why a new call for applications will be published in March.

The STO has also announced two major events in September - a tourism panel as part of the Bled Strategic Forum featuring Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization Taleb Rifai, and the Global Green Destination Day in Ljubljana.