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A lack of snow followed by crippling ice storms has seen ski resorts struggle to attract tourists this winter. The slopes of Pohorje above Maribor (NE) have been among the hardest hit due to their low altitude.

The Maribor Tourism Institute is reporting that only 10% of registered lodging capacities are full at the moment, a marked drop on previous seasons.

The resort of Kranjska Gora, one of Slovenia's most popular skiing destinations, located in the north-west, has also struggled to fill capacities this season due to the poor weather conditions.

The Kranjska Gora Tourism Centre estimates that local tourism facilities have lost around EUR 2m in revenue as a result of the weather-related troubles.

Both skiing destinations have concluded that additional efforts will have to be made to boost non-skiing activities for periods of "green winter" in Slovenia.

"A report on this will be forwarded to the relevant authorities since this is more than just a local or regional issue - it is a national issue of how to attract tourists when snow is lacking," Janja Viher from the Maribor Tourism Institute has said.

Despite their struggles so far, ski resorts are confident that the upcoming school holidays in Slovenia in the next two weeks will help turn around their fortunes for this season, as conditions on the slopes have improved.

While ski centres have struggled to fill up their lodging capacities, the capital of Ljubljana is again reporting a surge in tourist numbers this winter. While more concrete data is not available, officials believe that growth rates from recent years have been maintained.