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The STO lost independence as of 2013 as it was folded into the SPIRIT promotion agency along with the Agency for Entrepreneurship and Foreign Investment and the Technology Agency.

Strongly advocated by tourism officials, including Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek in his previous post as head of the Tourism Chamber, the split had already been planned by the previous government.

Announcing the move at a tourism fair in Ljubljana on Wednesday, Počivalšek said the legislative changes could be passed in parliament in early March so that the STO would become operational later the same month.

He said that re-establishing the organisation's independence would not be enough, as it would also need good staff and financial funding.

Under the government's decision today, the STO would use financial sources and staff for tourism promotion that is currently managed by SPIRIT.

The organisation's job will be planning and implementing marketing and promotion of Slovenia's comprehensive tourism offerings at home and on foreign markets.

The government says that the main reason for re-establishing STO is "value added in supporting the development of Slovenian tourism".