Maribor - The Maribor airport has not seen charter flights for three years and things are expected to change this summer as the Slovenia Guide agency announced weekly charter flights from Bolzano, Pisa and Naples, with the first arrival scheduled for 30 June.

As the project manager and director of the tourism company BMG Božidar Dokl told the STA, the idea is to connect providers of tourist services from the east of the country, while also not neglecting the rest of Slovenia.

According to him, the goal is to bring guests to Slovenia for a week-long holiday as part of which they will be able to choose from a variety of thematic experiences by means of a web portal.

The project will not be limited to foreign guests, as packages will also be available for people who would like to fly from Maribor to Italy.

A return ticket that covers 15-kg checked-in and 8-kg cabin luggage will cost EUR 259 for Bolzano, EUR 289 for Pisa and EUR 359 for Naples.

Dokl noted that the project would revive Maribor Edvard Rusjan Airport, where there have been no charter flights since 2018. He added that the project was supported by the state-owned company DRI, which currently operates the airport.

The agency plans flights on Thursdays between 30 June and 15 September with a De Havilland Canada Dash 8 aircraft of the Italian airline SkyAlps, which can accommodate 78 passengers.

A dozen charter flights are scheduled from each destination, or a total of 36 flights, which are expected to bring around 2,500 Italian tourists to Slovenia. The airline is based in Bolzano in the Italian province of South Tyrol.

In the first season, the project will focus on Italian guests who do not intend to visit Slovenia by car, who will be offered services by local providers of thermal spa and glamping holidays, hotel operators and tour operators.

The medium-term goal is to expand the business models to the areas around Rome, Turin, Genoa, Bari and Palermo, and the plan is to offer the package to some other European countries by 2024.

Ilona Stermecki, the director of the Slovenian Tourist Board (STO), said on the occasion that the link with the three Italian cities would significantly improve the air connectivity of Maribor and Slovenia with Italy as a major tourism market.