The Global Top 100 Sustainable Destinations 2014 list, released last week, has been compiled based on open invitations for assessment or based on sustainability certificates obtained, Turizem Ljubljana has explained.

Ljubljana has been nominated due to its efforts for sustainable development which have been acknowledged internationally, according to the tourist organisation.

The capital has obtained the title of the European Green Capital 2016 and is one of the first Slovenian destinations to be introducing the system of European indicators for sustainable destinations ETIS.

The system has been developed by the European Commission to help tourist destinations monitor, manage, measure and enhance their sustainability performances.

Ljubljana is also the first Slovenian destination to have requested for the Global Sustainable Tourism Review (GSTR), enabling comparisons among destinations in terms of sustainability on a global level.

The Global Top 100 Sustainable Destinations 2014 is a joint initiative of four international organisations promoting sustainable tourism: Green Destinations, TravelMole.com, Vision on Sustainable Tourism and Totem Tourism.

Tourist destinations have been assessed in six categories: nature, environment, culture and tradition, social well-being, green economy and certified green tourist policy.

The destinations are ranked based on their scores and according to their location, so there is no scales from one to 100.

Ljubljana's score in the first five categories is 8 out of 10, while the grade in the category certified green tourist policy awaits conclusion of the GSTR assessment procedure.

The best graded destination in the world is Azores, a Portuguese volcanic island in the middle of the Atlantic ocean, with an average score of 8.9.