A company can take out a long-term loan of up to 20 million euro under favourable terms from the SID Banka-managed credit fund, said the Slovenian Tourist Board (STO).

The loans can be used for investments into accommodation and sports facilities, entertainment and cultural venues, ski lifts, tourist resorts or marinas.

The new infrastructure will have to be built in Slovenia, and completed five years after the loan contract is signed at the latest.

The total value of a single investment must not exceed 50 million euro, with the loan from the SID fund covering no more than 85% of the value.

As the Slovenian tourist industry is posting record arrival and night figures, revenue is lagging far behind.

An average hotel room price in Slovenia is estimated to be by 30% below the prices in neighbours countries: on the Croatian coast, in Italy, Austria and Budapest.

A goal to secure 18,000-20,000 new rooms has thus been included by the Economy Ministry into Slovenian tourism's sustainable growth strategy until 2021.

Slovenia's tourism draw 145 million euro in grants from the EU's 2007-2013 budget for various tourist facilities, but there are no more such funds in the 2014-2020 budget.

Since this affects investments in the Slovenian tourism industry, the government came up with the new credit fund.

When presenting the new scheme last month, Minister Zdravko Počivalšek said "this is the crowning achievement of four years of our work" and added that "we cannot expect growth in tourism without investment".