The Virtuoso Chairman's Event, which will end on Thursday, is attended by 180 to 200 selected key decision makers at Virtuoso, the STO said.

Italy has been among the most popular destinations of US guests this year and the proximity of Venice provides major potential to connect the Venice tours to Slovenia's offerings.

STO director Maja Pak noted that Virtuoso's invitation to Slovenia presents a special honour and a major opportunity.

Slovenia has been recording a large increase in the arrivals and overnight stays of tourists in recent years. One of the key future goals is to boost the revenue provided by this trend, the target for 2021 being EUR 4bn.

Virtuoso Traveler, the network's publication, featured the Bled lake on its cover in December last year and descried Slovenia as a rising star of Europe. In January this year it ranked Slovenia among the top 18 destinations for 2018.