As boating and sailing trade fairs get under way this month, the Izola Marina will promote itself as Slovenia's leading, having extended its capacity to overtake rival Portorož.

Having built a new €2.3 million pier, the marina now has nearly 800 berths altogether and can take vessels up to 12 metres in length.

"Currently, there are more than 600 vessels in the Izola marina," says Vladimir Gavran, director of Porting, the company operating the marina.

He said there was quite a lot of interest in booking their berths, including among foreigners, most of whom come from German-speaking countries. About half of the customers are Slovenians.

"We have so far seen near full occupancy rates. We expect new capacities to fill up this year," he says. Annual berthing accounts for roughly 90% of the capacities.

The company posted over €3 million in turnover last year, which Gavran says is a few percentages up from 2021. Much stronger growth was recorded compared with 2020 after Porting took over the marina late that year.

Due to inflation and higher costs, Porting raised berthing fees by some 5% this year. Gavran says this is less than half the increase in the company's costs.

The company plans further investment in infrastructure, digitalisation and safety. In the future they want to focus on quality of services, improving the comforts of stay and integration with the surroundings.

One of Slovenia's three coastal municipalities, Izola saw a 24% increase in visitors and a 16% increase in overnight stays at accommodation facilities in 2022.

Slovenians accounted for 57% of all visitor arrivals and 62% of nights. However, the number of visitors from Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic surpassed pre-Covid levels. Most other foreign visitors come from Hungary and Italy.