Portorož/Izola - Slovenia's largest marinas are happy with occupancy rates this summer with the one in Izola reporting a record 98% occupancy and the Portorož marina is seeing 30% higher figures than last year.

After a change of ownership in spring, the operator Marina Portorož, says the occupancy rate is up about 30% compared with the same period a year ago for both permanent moorage and daily.

About 60% of the customers are Slovenians and about 30% come from German-speaking countries, with a further 5% from Italy and the rest from other countries.

"Considering the current data, the outlook for the continuation of the season is good, but it all depends on Covid-19 measures," the company told the STA.

They made a point of saying that nautical tourism is one of the safest ways to travel as it allows holidaymakers to spend their holiday in a bubble with most activities out in the open.

Marina Portorož is owned by Luka Lucija, a company owned by the Slovenian investment fund Cirus 1, which is in turn managed by JonatanMars, an alternative investment fund management firm.

Under the new management, the marina is being given a much needed facelift. A beach club is to open soon as the renovation of the pool is slated for completion next week.

Cycle and electric scooter rental will also be made available in the coming weeks as modernisation continues of the WiFi network and charging stations for plug-in vehicles.

The other major marina is in Izola, whose operator last year passed into the ownership of Grafist, the Koper-based construction company owned by Ante Guberac.

Marina Izola has been seeing an increase in demand for berths over the past two years, mainly by Slovenian boat owners.

At the moment 98% of their mooring capacity is occupied, which compares to 90% in the same period a year ago. About 10% are daily customers and the rest leased annual moorage.

About 65% of the customers come from Slovenia, followed by German- and Italian-speaking boaters.

The turnout of transit guests was up during the summer last year as well as in June, so they expect to see good occupancy rates also in July and August for a successful summer season.

Asked about improvements, Marina Izola noted digitalising their operations and the planned investments to build a new B pier with new berths, as well as new toilets.

Meanwhile, the passenger terminal at Slovenia's largest port, Koper, is still awaiting the arrival of the first cruise ship this year, which is now planned for August.

A total of 26 cruise ship arrivals with a total of 37,000 passengers on board have been announced for this season, down from the initially scheduled 88 ships with 130,000 passengers, the port operator, Luka Koper told the STA, while noting that the list was changing on a daily basis.