Development Agency of Slovenske gorice

Published by xavier on 20 November 202320 November 2023

Slovenia

Introduction

With the Ovtar goes around operation, the content and scope of the local offer of food and non-food products in connection with the tourist offer will be upgraded and connected with the content and offer of tourism, combined in one operation. It is an integrated approach to the development of the local offer in connection with the marketing of sustainable tourism.

Presentation of the project

Location:

The local and tourist offer of the LAG Ovtar of Slovenske gorice area (Southeastern Slovenia), which comprises 10 municipalities, united into a geographical whole. In terms of development, the region is below average in both Slovenian and European standards.

Existed needs:

Unrecognizability and weak promotion of the local and tourist offer of the LAS Ovtar area or Slovenske Gorice.
The absence of common (digital) platforms and marketing channels for common market presence.
Underutilization of local (tourist) potentials.

Objectives:

Development, presentation and promotion of local producers or providers of tourist services.
Development of services that improve the inclusion of the offer in the community of all residents of the area.
Connecting the offer and establishing conditions for sustainable and green development.
Support in connection and inclusion of vulnerable groups (elderly providers, housewives’ associations, young people, disabled…)

Actual outputs:

The combined appearance of local and tourist offers on the market.
Extremely positive response from providers and inclusion in the common brand.
Implementation of the idea of sustainability and environmental protection among providers, local communities and the environment in general.
Common digital platform (website) and promotional materials for tourism and other stakeholders (tourist catalogues, catalogues of local offer, brochures, maps – available in English as well).
Promotional materials that are universally applicable to events and local vendors (promo-wall, beach flags).
Raising the quality of tourist services and adopted standards for the development of the offer.
Establishing a network of cooperation with related organizations from the public and private sector.
Providing the basic basis for the development of tourism in the region.
Network of more than 250 local stakeholders (associations, local communities, farms, tourist providers, organizations, …).

Role of LEADER:

Co-financing the connected activities of local communities and stakeholders to meet their common needs in a wider area.
Implementation of guidelines for environmental protection, principles of sustainability and digitization among providers and local communities.
Connecting different (tourist and local) stakeholders into a common system that has the same goal.
It made it possible to ensure the basic conditions in the field of tourism and the local offer, so that it stands out from the average and starts building on added value.

Emblematic character of the project

We find that local providers, local communities and other stakeholders in the area do not know how to work together if it were not for an institution like ours. As a result, until now they did not even know each other and did not cooperate, and in the wider environment this meant that the region and its key offers were unrecognizable. Organizations at the national level and in the neighborhood of our area did not treat us equally and included us in joint activities.

Our organization spent a year collecting information on the field, identifying offers and potentials, and listening to local stakeholders regarding their problems and suggestions. Regardless of the concrete results of the project, this information from the field has an invaluable value for all definitions in the strategy and in future projects, since the information is obtained directly from the people and organizations to which LEADER is intended.

With the Ovtar goes around operation, we have raised the level of tourism development, as a result more and more people are engaged in tourism (new offer, neat surroundings, more jobs). Providers have also realized that even in tourism it is possible to have a positive impact on the environment, so most of them organize events without the use of plastic, with glass packaging, recycled material… and some also prepare projects focused on the circular economy, whereby we support them.

The project represents an example for other areas that have problems in connecting local and tourist offers. Although we connect 10 municipalities and almost 200 local and tourist providers, we practically never have problems with confirming our proposals, as we enjoy a high level of trust in our work. This is the main factor of our successful work, where we can be an example to others.

Pictures

We included region:

Nature:

Gastronomy (included subjects: Association of Housewives, rural Societies, Restaurants, Tourist Farms):

Local and tourist providers (groups and individual presentation):

Legends and cultural heritage:

2- CULINARY EVENTS (included subjects: local people, associations)

3-CATALOGUES, BROCHURES, MAPS

Catalogue regional tourist offer (available at: https://www.rasg.si/images/brosure/Turisti%C4%8Dni%20katalog_Na%20raj%C5%BEo_2022.pdf)

Brochure regional tourist offer (available at: https://www.rasg.si/images/brosure/Turisti%C4%8Dna%20bro%C5%A1ura_Na%20raj%C5%BEo_2022.pdf)

Catalogue local offer (collection of more than 100 local producers, available at: https://www.rasg.si/images/brosure/Ovtarjeva%20ponudba_Na%20raj%C5%BEo_2022.pdf)

Map of the wider area (available at: https://www.rasg.si/images/LAS_zemljevid_osnutek_v10_final_manjkajo_prevodi_treh_poti__kopija_compressed_1.pdf)