Marjan Hribar, the head of the Tourism and Internationalisation Directorate at the Economy Ministry, said the title proved that the goals of the ministry and the local communities regarding tourism in the area were being implemented.

Acting director of Spirit, the agency tasked with promoting Slovenia as an investment and tourism destination, Boštjan Skalar, said the EDEN project was among the most important tourism projects, as "it reflects the philosophy that goes hand in hand with our basic development and market guidelines".

The ambassador of EDEN Slovenia, Janez Bogataj, said the winning destination boasted a 160-year old tradition of spa tourism and 60-year old tradition of medical tourism.

This year's topic of the EDEN project was accessible tourism, enabling people with various physical and physical impairments to use tourist facilities in an independent and dignified way.

The jury, appointed by Spirit, chose Laško among three finalists, because the spa town meets all these demands and offers to visitors other different activities apart from the spa tourism throughout the municipality.

Laško has become the fifth European Destination of Excellence in Slovenia, following the old mining town of Idrija (W) in 2011, the River Kolpa in 2010, the Solčava area in 2009 and the valley of the River Soča in 2008.

European Destinations of Excellence is a project launched in 2008 with the goal of promoting sustainable tourism development models across the EU.