IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR THE HEART OF SLOVENIA AREA …danteproject.eu/sites/danteproject.eu/files/ip/Implementation_Plan... · Digital agenda for New Tourism Approach in European

This project is co-financed by the ERDF and made possible by the INTERREG IVC programme

Digital agenda for New Tourism Approach in European Rural

and Mountain Areas

IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR THE HEART

OF SLOVENIA AREA

Local digital-touristic agenda

Development Centre of the Heart of Slovenia

June 2014


1. INTRODUCTION

The focus of DANTE project is the information society applied to the tourism policy agenda

of regional and local governments in Europe, with a particular focus on rural and mountain

destinations.

With the cooperation in DANTE project Development Centre of the Heart of Slovenia

contributes to the competiveness of the rural area, better integrating ICT policies into the

tourism strategies defined at regional level. DANTE project is an opportunity for the Heart of

Slovenia area for further development of tourism and upgrade of use of different

information and communication technologies for tourism purposes.

Partners in DANTE project, among which is also Development Centre of the Heart of

Slovenia, were getting to know good practices on workshops and study visits in the duration

of the project. We were acquainted with modern trends on use of different information and

communication technologies in mountain and rural areas. On study visits we went deeper on

to learn from the content of different good practices of different partners. We visited good

practice of Bauernhofferien in Germany in December 2013 and in Crete February 2014.

In the implementation plan we tried to consider everything we learned within DANTE project

and to take into consideration already developed touristic plans, strategies and policies on

ICT in tourism on regional, national and European level.

With this implementation plan we would like to in line with Strategy of development and

marketing of tourism in The Heart of Slovenia 2011-2018 raise accessibility of tourism

providers from the area. With the use of new technologies they will be better connected and

they will easier communicate online.

Methodology:

The implementation plan is being prepared with bottom-up approach with integration of

many stakeholders on the field of tourism.

3 local workshops with tourism stakeholders from The Heart of Slovenia area were organized

in year 2013. The aim of these workshops was to present some existing DANTE good

practices in ICT in tourism, to disseminate the translated DANTE good practice catalogue and

to get their recommendations/inputs for the Implementation plan of the area the Heart of

Slovenia in the field of ICT in tourism.

Important inputs for the Implementation plan on possible ICT use in favour of tourism were

defined in these sessions. Participants expressed the importance of modern ICT tools for

further development of tourism in the area Participants were different stakeholders: rural


hotels, restaurants, associations, NGOs etc.), and also public administrators and local

government from municipalities in the Heart of Slovenia.

We also included experts in different disciplines, especially on tourism and ICT in the process

of drafting the implementation plan. The opinion of final users will be taken into

consideration.

2. GENERAL COMMON STRATEGIES

Considering that:

ICTs have been transforming the tourism industry since the 80's, but the exponential

growth of the Internet since the second half of the 1990s and the emergence of the so-

called Web 2.0 since the second half of the 2000s has unleashed a revolution, which

changed dramatically the market conditions for tourism organizations (a fact to reflect upon:

according to ITB World travel trends report, the internet has by now clearly established itself

as the main place to buy travel with 54% of bookings, well ahead of travel agencies which

have slipped to 24%).

The entire process of developing, managing and marketing tourism products and

destinations has been transformed due to the Internet, which empowers the interactivity

between tourism enterprises and consumers to unprecedented levels, thus:

• altering economies of scale and barriers to entry, allowing even small businesses to

compete on the global market;

• revolutionizing distribution channels;

• facilitating price transparency and competition;

• minimizing switching costs.

Customers saw an increase in their bargaining power, thanks to:

• instant access to information;

• the possibility to better understand market offers and conditions;

• a constant exposition to special offers;

• more choice and the possibility to make direct comparisons, which are rising their

expectations and demands.


From the perspective of businesses, especially considering the tourism offer of rural and

mountain areas, the emergence of Web 2.0 and social networking brought about both new

opportunities and challenges. On the positive side:

• tourism suppliers are no longer obliged to entrust their distribution entirely to

intermediaries, such as travel agents and tour operators;

• new opportunities emerged for SMEs and for niche tourism offer and destinations.

On the other hand, such evolution requires all tourism businesses, even the smallest ones, to

gain and keep-up-to-date ICT vision and expertise, in order to successfully interact with

customers, since, among others:

• customer satisfaction depends more and more on the accuracy and

comprehensiveness of information provided and on the ability of organizations to

react instantly to consumer requests;

• it is much easier for unsatisfied customers to voice complaints, which can have a high

visibility on the social media.

Twenty years from the emergence of this dramatic evolution, the public bodies entrusted

with planning and development of the local tourism offer are faced with the need for

innovative policies, which should enable the tourism businesses to effectively compete on

the transformed global market, thus maximizing the opportunities for the local economies

and communities.

According to this general need, the Dante Project aims to promote a new regional policy

approach to designing knowledge-based plans for the tourism sector.

Considering also that:

The evolution affecting the ICTs and the Internet, so relevant for the tourism industry, is

actually deeply changing all aspects our lives: the way individuals communicate and

collaborate, the way entrepreneurs and corporations do business and the way governments

develop policy and interact with their citizens. Among the most relevant aspects, the social

and economic impacts are certainly to be mentioned.

Under the first point of view, access to knowledge and content has been widened to

unprecedented levels in all sectors, including tourism. Participative knowledge production

has gained growing importance, unleashing creativity and innovation. The Internet is even

transforming democracy:

• allowing new forms of engagement, representation and deliberation;


• enabling, for example, collaborative mapping of issues and setting of priorities;

• providing the tools to bring transparency, responsiveness and accountability into

traditional governance practices.

The economic impact has been huge as well: the Internet has proven to be an extraordinary

platform for expanding existing business opportunities and fostering new ones, for enabling

the flow of goods and/or services in dynamic ways, for encouraging competition, sustaining

market presence and inspiring new business models. According to a study by the McKinsey

Global Institute “The great transformer: The impact of the Internet on economic growth and

prosperity”, in 2011, Internet-enabled business accounted for more than 20 percent of the

GDP growth in mature economies and 7 percent in the large emerging economies of China,

India and Brazil over the last 6 years.

In all industries, the Internet encourages entrepreneurs and end-users to innovate. The

ability, even for small firms, to offer products directly to a global market generates new

paths to innovation and collaboration. The Internet also promotes competition, allowing

new entrants to succeed and offering consumers a broader selection of products and

services at lower cost.

All this has been possible thanks to some peculiar features, which characterize the Internet

from its origins and allowed it to flourish. As summarized by the official document “What

every policymaker needs to know about the Internet” published in February 2012 by the

Center for Democracy & Technology (Washington, DC) the Internet:

• is decentralized by design: unlike previous mass media, its power is at the edges of

the network. Any device can be attached to the network and interoperate with

another device, with little regard for physical distance;

• is based on open and interoperable standards, which are the key to ensuring that the

Internet remains a “network of networks”, interoperable and universally accessible.

Without such standards, the risk is a set of fragmented and isolated “Internets”,

unable to communicate among each other;

• is based on “net neutrality”, a principle which indicates equality among all

information transported over the network: Internet service providers and

governments should treat all data on the Internet equally, not discriminating or

charging differentially by user, content, site, platform, application, type of attached

equipment, and modes of communication;

• has low barriers to entry: traditional radio and television technology was bound by a

limited technical capacity to exploit the electromagnetic spectrum. The Internet by

contrast can accommodate an essentially unlimited number of points of entry and an


essentially unlimited number of speakers. Its open platform accommodates “many to

many”, “one to many” and “one to one” communication. Compared to the cost of a

printing press, a TV station or a radio tower, the cost of launching a website is

remarkably low — and that website can reach the entire world. Low barriers to entry

and participation have led to a relative equality of voice and a democratization of

expression. A new content or application provider can emerge from nowhere to

become an extraordinary success with relatively low investment.

Such characteristics are, however, not a given, and requires support from all stakeholder

groups. The debate over the future of the Internet is raging and the next few years will be

crucial in order to see which development paths will prevail. Among the most relevant

crossroads:

• the contrast between the ‘open web’ and a more governed form of the web: as an

answer to the vulnerability and the limits shown by the Internet in many occasion in

the last years, a generation of products emerged which are characterized by more

security but less freedom. The iPad/iPhone or the XBOX are not easily modified by

anyone except their vendors and their approved partners. These products do not

allow unapproved third-party code to run on them, and are therefore more reliable

than some areas of the web;

• the principle of ‘net neutrality’ opposed to a 'tiered service model', which allows

broadband providers to guarantee priority to specific data streams in exchange for

higher fees. The possibility of regulations designed to mandate the neutrality of the

Internet is subject to fierce debate, especially in the United States, at EU level no

clear rules on net neutrality exist today.

A further dilemma of the Internet is that, while its ease of access is positive for fostering

open debate and innovation, this raises questions about the quality of information

available, which is extremely variable and often difficult to assess, thus limiting its

usefulness.

Unlike in newspapers or television broadcasts, information available on the Internet is not

regulated for quality or accuracy; therefore, it is crucial for the individual Internet users to be

aware of the possible flaws and to be able to correctly evaluate the source or information.

The issue is especially relevant in the medical field, where quality of information can be a

matter of life or death, but is to be carefully considered in the tourism field as well. Access to

a comprehensive and trustworthy information is becoming more and more a crucial element

in order to provide a high quality service and guarantee a positive travel experience to the


visitors, thus stimulating a growing need for objective, reproducible, widely accepted criteria

that can be used to evaluate the quality of the information.

Even if the immediate goal of Dante project is strengthening the relationship between ICT

and tourism in the rural and mountain regions, its ultimate objective is much more

comprehensive and ambitious. Considering the huge impact which the above mentioned

trends will potentially have on the socio-economic development of the partner areas, the

projects aims at:

• improving the effectiveness of regional policies in the area of innovation;

• being an occasion to reflect on a general level upon the opportunities offered by the

ICTs and the Internet and the strategies which could most effectively allow to seize

them;

• improve the general approach of the local communities, with a special focus on the

public bodies, towards the most innovative technologies and the connected tools.

The Partners of the Dante project commit to the pursuit of the following COMMON GOALS

and implement the following actions:

1) Democracy/Accessibility of information.

Goals

The Dante partners will actively promote policies favouring:

• the development of new forms of active participation addressed to citizens,

businesses and their associations;

• the bridging of the remaining digital divide, since access is a condition for

participation in the digital age;

• the widespread availability of balanced, impartial information from a variety of

sources. Choice between diverse opinions and trends, as well as pluralism will be

pursued.

• the empowerment of citizens and businesses, through adequate competences and

skills and the careful design and management of the ICT tools provided by the public

sector;

• the exploitation of the full potential of the ICTs, in the development of a more open

and inclusive society.


Actions:

• adapting the idea of “smart city” to the rural and mountain areas, with the creation

of “smart territories”, where connectivity and free access to the web are the key to

improving the quality of life of citizens, the services to the local businesses and the

attractiveness of the region;

• promoting open data, the availability of a wide range of high-quality data-sets and

their use by citizen and businesses for the creation of new services and job

opportunities;

• favouring the widespread adoption of open source software and, in general, ICT

solutions inspired by the idea of “open web”, especially where the purchase or

development is supported through public funding. This principle will be regarded as a

general guideline by the Partners, which will opt for proprietary software or ICT

solutions in case of specific needs or requirements which could not be met through

an open alternative (for example, in connection with reliability standards required for

the management of specific public services).

2) Quality of information for citizens and enterprises.

Goals

The Dante partners will work towards the adoption of measures promoting:

• an increased awareness of citizens and businesses regarding the quality of

information available on the Internet and its potential pitfalls;

• the improvement of their digital competences, with regards to their ability to

produce and publish quality contents, to manage the ICT tools and to amend or reply

to incorrect or unfair information. Infact so far, there is still insufficient access to the

latest information and communication technologies, preventing mountain people

from developing indispensable services for tourists. Tourism operators need to adapt

to these major changes and especially SMEs should be helped to learn how to use

efficiently these technologies to attract visitors. Infact in mountain areas actually

only a minority of operators has a website and is able to use social networks;

• the development of procedures and standards which will allow public bodies to

publish data, which should not be just open, but whose reliability should be

“certified”, as well. Such additional guarantee is needed for example, in order to

allow the creation of new applications and services addressing the need of tourists

for dependable information;


• the development of open sources and free software.

Actions

• developing schemes and procedures which will allow public bodies to certify the

reliability of specific open tourism data-sets (for example: the georeferenced local

network of hiking paths);

• providing the local tourism businesses with the digital skills and competences needed

in order to effectively interact online (teach tourism operators to use a website and

to manage it, updating data, using social networks etc., assess the quality level and

reliability of different information sources; publish quality contents on the web and

on the most relevant social networks, with specific regards to the opportunities

offered by free or low-cost online tools; properly react to online incorrect

information or criticism);

• promoting the wide spread of critical sensibility towards the tourism information

(and in general the information) available online and the diffusion of digital

competencies in the local communities, especially targeting the population segments

with lowest ICTs skills;

• promoting open source.

An active and central role of tourists in the development of tourism strategies.

Goals

According to the Dante partners, the opportunities offered by the wide range of new ICT

tools and communication channels, require the public bodies entrusted with the local

tourism planning and promotion to develop innovative ways to communicate with visitors

and potential visitors, integrating them and their recommendations in the tourism

development activity.

Actions

• explore the possibilities offered by the web 2.0 tools and the social networks in

connection with a more active and central role of tourists in the planning and

promotion of the local tourism offer;

• define operational schemes allowing public bodies to effectively interact with tourists

and citizens by means of these new media, respecting the specific communication

style (public body interacting with users from a position of equality, short response

time, need for constant update and production of new contents over an extended


time frame).

Considering also that:

In mountain areas, ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) are more and more

used by customers to prepare their travel and accommodations before their stay, to get

practical information on their mobile during their stay and to share their impressions on the

visited destinations during and after their stay, thanks to social networks notably. The

customer’s increasingly influential role in the tourism purchasing cycle has resulted in a

constantly changing market place, in which the consumer/actor is becoming the most

important player.

So far, there is still insufficient access to the latest information and communication

technologies, preventing mountain people from developing indispensable services for

tourists. Tourism operators need to adapt to these major changes and especially SMEs

should be helped to learn how to use efficiently these technologies to attract visitors. Infact

in mountain areas actually only a minority of operators has a website and is able to use

social networks.

Then with reference to the European legislation to improve the use of ICT in the tourism

sector, we recommend:

• To integrate ICT and tourism in the Smart specialisation Strategies and in the

Operational Programmes of the regions, to allow structural funds to finance ICT and

tourism projects.

• To integrate the DANTE pilot web platform into the Tourismlink platform developed

at EU level to share good examples of integrated web platform, which can be easily

transferred to all touristic destinations.

• To integrate into the Tourismlink platform some specific training modules to help

SMEs of remote tourism destinations to learn how to develop and use ICT, how ICT

can help to boost their destinations and depending of the context, which ICT could

have the most impacts on visitors.

• To encourage the development of innovative tourism products or services, using for

example ICT, interactive methods, new forms of interpretation at heritage, cultural

and natural sites.

To develop the access to ICT tools, rural and mountain areas need to have high speed

broadband on their whole territories. This is a key prerequisite to be able to develop new


tourism websites, new mobile applications for tourists or new ICT tools (like on-line cameras

or e-commerce to book tickets in advance).

Euromontana has signed the Manifesto for a High Speed Broadband in rural areas of the

ENGAGE project to encourage the development of digital Infrastructure for European

Competitiveness. As confirmed by the OECD report on Rural and Urban partnerships, rural

areas “have potential for growth”1, they can bring a significant contribution to the economic

and social well-being of the EU and should not be left out of the digital revolution.

We consider that high speed broadband in rural and mountain areas is essential to develop

attractive tourism destinations nowadays and to allow developing and exploiting ICT to

improve tourism. One of the biggest improvements the EU can make to support the

technological development and innovation in tourism is to help provide access to High Speed

Broadband in the more remote, peripheral, sparsely populated and mountainous areas of

the Union. The lack of equivalent broadband services in mountain areas compared to coastal

and urban areas is a significant disadvantage and can completely mitigate much of the

positive and innovative work some of our remote and mountainous communities are

engaged in. Without making common standards of access to broadband a priority and

providing funds and initiatives to make this happen the opportunity of having parity with

Coastal and Urban areas in particularly is lost. In addition to the development of Broadband

access to mobile services and 3G/4G should also be consider for support. As more populated

and easy to service areas gain access to mobile services, this leave the less populated and

difficult to service territories at a significant disadvantage. Whilst paying to support these

services may not be possible, supporting alternatives and uses of other services to provide

an equivalent access for modern devices could be of great benefit.

In addition one of the main issues here is the time taken to prove market failure. While

public subsidies can be made available to mountain areas the time lag before this is

permitted can be to long for fast moving technology developments. 4G was already being

rolled out in cities before there was acceptance of the fact that there was market failure and

that public subsidy could be used to roll out 2G in rural / mountain areas. This process needs

to be much quicker or rural / mountain area provision will always lag behind.

Thus, we strongly recommend:

• To prioritise developing access to broadband and high-speed broadband, through

either fixed or wireless technology, focusing first on the isolated and remote areas,

where public incentives should be more important than in highly populated areas

1 OECD Rural Policy Review: Rural-Urban Partnerships: an Integrated Approach to Economic Development, OECD, 2013, p15.


where private actors are already encouraged to invest and guarantee sufficient

connectivity

• To suppress the roaming costs in the whole EU to encourage tourists to use tourism

mobile applications, even when they are not in their own country.

Finally we strongly recommend that European policies, especially in rural and mountain

areas, should aim to:

1) facilitate access to ICT in rural and mountain areas, spreading the “culture of ICT

welcome”:

a) training of operators;

b) promoting the wide spread of critical sensibility towards the tourism

information;

c) encouraging relationships with professional users (ie. bloggers);

d) updating information in public databases and reinforcing links between public

data bases;

2) create “smart and inclusive territories” for ICT open use:

a) improving broadband and infrastructures;

b) improving the open data initiatives;

c) improving the open sources and free software use;

d) improving the wireless free access;

3) create new system of dialogue for improving the quality/democracy of information:

a) certification for giving data and information from Public to Private (schemes and

procedures);

b) ”filter” criteria for receiving data and information from Private to Public.

The “ICT philosophy” will change the way of communicate and “have relations” each other

and offers new opportunities to tourism policies to change the governance schemes and to

tourism operators to change market approaches.

A philosophy encouraging to be:


• OPEN: the hierarchy of relationships change: the tourist is active (send pictures, open

blogs, send tourism information to the community, it is also “blog-journalist”, he

could interact at the same level with touristm operators), the operator should be

able to use ICT tools to keep and get in touch to tourists; public and private sectors

could talk each others easier

• IN (the event): with ICT (social networks) is possible to comment a fact during the

same time is happening and interact with it, then the speed of information and the

“sensitivity” of the answers to the demand of communication increase, the answer

has to be faster then in other media; the language change to adapt to the new media

of communication

• CLOSE: ICT use encourages and develops a language “closer to emotions”, friendly,

shared, in real time, in the event, closer to “normal life”

• LOW COST: the use of open source and free software (ex. “open street map”) and

open data decrease the cost of information and increase its accessibility.

This new approach represent a “little revolution” that could affect positively local policies if

this challenge is considered as an opportunity of increasing visions and strategies and not

only the “tools box”.

The local policies in tourism and ICT, especially in rural and mountain areas, should seize this

opportunity and face the challenge our world has to address without any hesitation.

3. LEGISLATION FRAMEWORK ON ICT AND ON TOURISM

A) European, legislation, programs, plans, guidelines

In this chapter, we aim at recalling the European policies and actors in the field of tourism

and ICT, citing the most representative developments and initiatives taken at the European

level.

A.1 Tourism policy at European Union level


Tourism is the third socio-economic activity in the EU. This industry is said to generate more

than 5% of the EU GDP, with about 1.8 million enterprises, essentially SMEs, employing

around 5.2% of the total labour force (approximately 9.7 million jobs). When related sectors

are taken into account, the estimated contribution of tourism to GDP creation is much

higher: tourism indirectly generates more than 10% of the European Union's GDP and

employs about 12% of the labour force2. At EU level, DG Enterprise and Industry, Unit

“Tourism” is responsible for tourism.

Legal framework: Tourism, a new and limited competence of the EU

The Maastricht and Amsterdam Treaties included tourism among the EU’s objectives, but did

not provide any specific instrument for its implementation. The EU had to wait for the Lisbon

Treaty to enter into force in December 2009 to have a specific legal basis on tourism.

Thanks to Article 6 “the EU has competence only to support, coordinate and complement

the actions of the Member States” and according to article 195:

“1. The Union shall complement the action of the Member States in the tourism sector, in

particular by promoting the competitiveness of Union undertakings in that sector. To that

end, Union action shall be aimed at:

(a) encouraging the creation of a favourable environment for the development of

undertakings in this sector;

(b) promoting cooperation between the Member States, particularly by the exchange of good

practice.

2. The European Parliament and the Council, acting in accordance with the ordinary

legislative procedure, shall establish specific measures to complement actions within the

Member States to achieve the objectives referred to in this Article, excluding any

harmonisation of the laws and regulations of the Member States.”

Europe, the World’s n° 1 tourist destination

2

Figures quoted in the 2010 Communication : Europe, the World's No 1 tourist destination – a new political

framework for tourism in Europe


With 370 million of international arrivals and 1.4 billion of European travellers, the EU is the

first touristic destination in the world, as outlined in the latest Communication of the

European Commission, in 2010, “Europe, the World's No 1 tourist destination – a new

political framework for tourism in Europe“3. It defines a new action framework, which

consists of the following four priorities:

(1) Stimulate competitiveness in the European tourism sector;

(2) Promote the development of sustainable, responsible and high-quality tourism;

(3) Consolidate the image and profile of Europe as a collection of sustainable and

high quality destinations;

(4) Maximise the potential of EU financial policies and instruments for developing

tourism.

The enhancement of the competitiveness of the European tourism sector is also included in

the recently adopted Europe 2020 Strategy, which intends to transform EU in a smart,

sustainable and inclusive economy.

To encourage sustainable tourism, DG Enterprise and Industry has developed:

• a European Charter on sustainable and responsible tourism, which should be

adopted in 2014, to have a common definition of sustainable tourism.

• The European Tourism Indicators System (ETIS): for Sustainable Management at

Destination Level: a set of 27 core and 40 optional indicators to evaluate and monitor

the progress towards a more sustainable management of the touristic destinations. A

first pilot phase on 100 destinations will last from July 2013 till April 2014.

• The European Tourism Quality Label (ETQL), should be published early 2014, to

create an umbrella label for quality schemes to increase consumer security and

confidence in tourism products.

• A Virtual Tourism Observatory, will be available in June 2014, to provide reliable,

comparable and up-to-date information for tourism policy makers, stakeholders and

researchers and to identify trends and developments in the tourism industry.

In addition, DG Enterprise and Industry directly supports several actions such as Calypso to

promote low-season tourism for disadvantaged people, including for senior people; the

European Destinations of Excellence (EDEN) to award sustainable tourism projects ; Cycling

3 This communication follows the establisment of the Tourism Advisory Committee in 1986, the implementation of

Agenda 21, the “Communication on a renewed EU tourism policy” in March 2006 and the “Communication on an Agenda for a sustainable and competitive European tourism in October 2007.


Roads to develop new cycling itineraries all throughout Europe or Crossroads of Europe to

promote the European cultural itineraries.

Several other EU policies, linked to the free movement of people, goods and services, SMEs,

consumer protection, environment, climate change, transport and regional development

have direct or indirect impact on tourism. For instance, a new visa package should be

adopted in 2014, amending the current Visa Code and will simplify the visa requirements

and procedures for regular travellers, whereas first time travellers will benefit from clearer

rules, which will facilitate tourism.

A.2 The Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) at EU level

The Information and communication technologies (further called ICT) represent 5.6% of EU

GDP (670 Billion Euro) and 5.3% of total employment in 2007. Half of the EU productivity

growth (1.1% between 2000 and 2004) comes from ICT and 25% of research expenditure

(2002-2003) is dedicated to this sector. 4

The European Union aims at encouraging cooperation between Member States and

supporting their action. Within the European Commission, the responsibility for ICTs is

shared between DG CONNECT (responsible for Digital Agenda for Europe and for Digital

European Research Agenda) and DG Enterprise and Industry (for technological

development).

Digital Agenda for Europe

The Digital Agenda for Europe (further called Digital Agenda or DAE) is one flagship initiative

of the Europe 2020 strategy. It follows the i2010, eEurope 2005, eEurope 2002 and eEurope

initiatives. Through 101 actions distributed in 7 pillars, the DAE aims at using ICT to help

Europe's citizens and businesses to get the most out of digital technologies and foster

economy.

Thanks to specific efforts on the broadband regulatory environment, new public digital

services infrastructures, digital skills and jobs and cloud computing, the goals of the DAE are

to extend broadband coverage to the entire EU by 2013, to reach 50% of the population

buying online by 2015, to suppress the roaming costs, to increase the regular internet use up

4 DG Enterprise: http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/ict/competitiveness/ict-brief/index_en.htm


to 75% by 2015 and to encourage e-government5. Progress against these targets is measured

in the annual Digital Agenda Scoreboard.

The European Commission has estimated that the full implementation of this updated Digital

Agenda would increase European GDP by 5%, or 1500€ per person, over the next 8 years. In

terms of jobs, up to one million digital jobs risk going unfilled by 2015 without pan-European

action while 1.2 million jobs could be created through infrastructure construction. This

would rise to 3.8 million new jobs throughout the economy in the long term.

The European Commission also supports the emergence of a Digital European Research Area

(ERA) where researchers, knowledge, and technologies circulate freely.

ICT standardisation: a voluntary process between stakeholders

Since 20046, the European Union has encouraged the development of common technical

specifications based on consensus among stakeholders, on a voluntary cooperation basis.

Indeed, standards play an essential role for interoperability, privacy and accessibility thereby

effectively supporting the use of ICT applications and services. The European Commission is

also encouraging to include openness, transparency and web neutrality7 in ICT

standardisation.

The new Rolling Plan for ICT Standardisation (2013) aims to give a non-binding multi-annual

activity plan, listing key standardization sectors for the following years. Even if tourism is not

quoted as such, all the standardisation work linked to web accessibility, e-skills and e-

learning, accessibility of ICT services and products and e-invoicing could be of direct interest

for tourism.

In DANTE, to further implement the pilot action, partners will have to use public

procurement procedures. In 2012, the EU Regulation No 1025/2012 on European

standardisation renews the possibility8 to allow technical standards in public procurement.

In addition, public procurement could now refer to ICT technical specifications, to respond to

5 DG Connect: 7 pillars and objectives of Digital Agenda: https://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/node/1505

6 EU Communication "The role of European standardisation in the framework of European policies and

legislation” and Commission's staff working document on the challenges for European standardisation (2004), and then Commission White Paper of 3 July 2009 - Modernising ICT Standardisation in the EU: the Way Forward COM(2009) 324

7 In September 2013, the Commissioner Nelly Croes has suggested a telecom market reform with the suppression of EU-wide and roaming-free mobile plans and the first-ever EU-wide protection of net neutrality. But, due to the European Elections in May 2014, this reform will be hardly adopted under the current EP’s

mandate. 8 Already given in the Directive 2004/18/EC on the coordination of procedures for the award of public works

contracts, public supply contracts and public service contracts


the fast evolution in the field of ICT, facilitate the provision of cross-border services,

encourage competition and promote interoperability and innovation.

A.3 Linking Tourism and ICT at EU level

The ICT and Tourism Business Action launched in 2013

DG Enterprise and Industry has well understood the importance to link ICT and tourism and

thus has implemented in 2013, a specific programme called “ICT and Tourism Business

Action”. This initiative has 3 main components:

• Policy component: a high-level group (HLG) of representatives from the fields of

tourism, ICT and other relevant stakeholders will analyse market evolution, identify

needs and make recommendations for future policy development.

• Technological component TOURISMlink: this demonstration project (2012 – 2014)

aims at linking tourism professionals with the digital market, by facilitating ICT

aspects of cooperation between companies located at different sections of the

tourism industry's value chain, and ensuring that SMEs can easily participate in the

digital value chain without having to bear heavy costs.

• Operational component Tourism-IT: a portal to assist businesses (mainly SMEs) in

each step of their business processes. Its aim is to become the one stop shop,

providing SMEs with relevant, practical information, including up to date ICT business

tools, tutorials and training to help any tourism company set up, manage and

promote their business.

A set of EU Funding schemes for the new programming period 2014-2020

In the previous programming period (2007-2013), the structural funds (ERDF, ESF), the 7°

Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development, or the

Competitiveness and Innovation Programmes (CIP) were the main EU funds supporting ICT

and tourism projects, with some actions also being eligible under the Rural development

Fund (EAFRD) through its economic diversification, broadband and LEADER measures.

In the new programming period (2014-2020), EU funds and instruments, including those

already mentioned in this chapter will continue to support both ICT development and

tourism and may help further implementation of strategies stemming from the DANTE

project, linking ICT and rural tourism. The structure of funds has slightly changed from the

previous period.


ERDF, ESF and EAFRD together with the Cohesion Fund and the Maritime and Fisheries Fund

are now linked under a common European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) umbrella.

Implementation responds to a common provisions regulation with an annexed Common

strategic framework (CSF) which has defined 11 thematic objectives for concentration of the

use of EU funding in coherence with the EU 2020 strategy. ERDF funding must be

concentrated on four thematic objectives, all four of which are relevant to tourism and ICT:

innovation and research, digital development, SME competitiveness and low carbon

economy. Actions to be financed under the first two objectives are to be coherent with a

Research and Innovation Strategy for Smart Specialisation (RIS3) to be defined at regional

level. The RIS3 of territories in which DANTE partners are included should include a digital

growth section if partners wish to fund ICT projects (for broadband or ICT services and

products) through ERDF or EAFRD, preferably mentioning the link to tourism. Interreg

Europe will help to exchange and implement good practices on ICT and tourism. ESF will

encourage e-skills for workers and EAFRD will develop broadband and touristic

infrastructures for renewal of villages in rural areas.

At EU level, businesses and entrepreneurs will be directly supported thanks to COSME

(through grants, loan guarantee facility and the equity facility for Growth) to foster

competitiveness of enterprises, including in the touristic sector. Mobility of young

entrepreneurs will be encouraged through the Erasmus for young entrepreneurs

programme.

Finally, at EU level, two funding schemes will directly focus on ICT:

• The Connecting Europe Facility will provide seamless cross-border public services

such as eProcurement, eHealth, or Open Data.

• The new EU Research programme “Horizon 2020” will fund research activities, from

fundamental research to close-to-market innovation. One dedicated work

programme on ICT will focus on how to improve ICT technologies and the future

internet thanks to cloud development, improvement of software development or

wireless technologies.

For more details on the EU funding schemes for 2014-2020, please see the Annex I: A set of

EU funding schemes in the next programming period 2014-2020 for ICT and tourism

B) National legislation, programs, plans

The development of sustainable tourism is committed to policies both at European level as

well as on national level in Slovenia. European Commission in June 2010 published a

document with new political framework for tourism in Europe, which identifies four priority


areas of development. One of them is also encouraging the development of sustainable,

responsible and high quality tourism. Sustainable development of tourism is defined as one

of the fundamental principles in the Act on the promotion of tourism development and in

Development Plan and Policies of Slovenian Tourism 2007-2011 (DPPST).

The story of the green (unspoilt nature and responsible behavior towards the environment,

residents, tourists, employees) is embedded in the very identity and brand I FEEL SLOVENIA.

Slovenian Tourist Organisation (SPIRIT Agency) is convinced that sustainable and green

tourism development is an opportunity for Slovenia. It is also an answer by all stakeholders

in the tourism sector to changes in the environment with the aim of ensuring long-term

competitiveness of Slovenian tourism and enhancing the quality of life of inhabitants of

Slovenia. In 2009 a strategic platform of green tourism in Slovenia was formed and a series

of measures to implement green sustainable tourism was launched.

The new Slovenian Tourism Development Strategy 2012-2016 contains a commitment that

tourism in Slovenia will be entirely based on sustainable development by 2016. Use of ICT in

tourism sector is defined in the strategy as one of important strategic directions for Slovenia

as a tourism destination.

C) Regional and local legislation, programs, plans

Strategy of development and marketing of tourism in The Heart of Slovenia 2011-2018 was

published in 2010 in cooperation of Development Centre of the Heart of Slovenia with

municipalities from the area. Basic guideline for development of tourism is connected to

raise of accessibility of tourism providers. With the use of information and communication

technologies providers will be better connected and they will easier communicate online.

Main activities in the field of ICT from above mentioned Strategy are:

• Web portal The Heart of Slovenia as tourism destination

• Main tourism brochures for The Heart of Slovenia area

• Use of social media (Facebook, Twitter)

• Mobile applications for smart phones and devices

• GPS system for all tourist points

• CRM system for informations about tourists


4. ORGANIZATION OF TOURISTIC SYSTEM AT NATIONAL/

LOCAL LEVEL

National level

According to the Slovenian Tourism Development Strategy 2012-2016, the SPIRIT Public

Agency (former Slovenian Tourist Board) is responsible for the marketing and promotion of

Slovenia as a tourist destination. It has promotion, distribution and development role in

Slovenian tourism. As the leading strategic partner of Slovenian tourism it links existing

products and destinations as well as projects of national importance. It concerns for

development of new tourism products and establishes a comprehensive tourist information

structure and carries out research and development work.

Below are the pictures that explain the position of tourism sector in Slovenia.

Source: Vučković, 2014.



Tourist Association of Slovenia acts in conjunction with public and private sector as an equal

collaborator and co-creator of developments in tourism. Tourist Association of Slovenia is a

national organization of tourist associations - voluntary, interest, non-profit, non-

governmental and non-partisan. It is an institution of civil society in the public interest and

includes more than 629 tourist associations, 30 local and regional associations and other

associations and 85 tourist information centers. There is also a Tourism and Hospitality

Chamber in Slovenia (at Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia) and Tourism and

Catering Section (at The Chamber of Craft and Small Business. There are also different

Stakeholder associations, such as Association of Tourist Farms in Slovenia, Association of

Tourist Agencies, Slovenian Natural Spas Association etc. (Vučković, 2014).

Regional level

There are 13 regional destination organizations in Slovenia. Regional destination boards

were built on the basis of their eligibility to be allocated a financial incentive by the Ministry

of Economic Development and Technology. According to the Slovenian Tourism

Development Strategy 2012-2016, Regional destination boards handle »promotion,

distribution, development and operations, not disregarding their vital connective role


between all stakeholders at a regional level. Regional destination boards link the tourist

offer at a regional level into interesting and attractive integral tourist products.«

Local level

Local tourist organisations perform the function of promotion, distribution, development

and operations, and act as intermediaries between all stakeholders at a local level. The

Slovenian Tourism Development Strategy 2012-2016 suggests that »cooperation and

relations with development actors on a regional level should be intensified, as this is the only

way to form quality and interesting integral tourist products.«

The Heart of Slovenia area does not have a status of regional destination but it is a sub-

regional structure. A partnership of 10 municipalities (Development Partnership of The Heart

of Slovenia) supports the development of The Heart of Slovenia destination. Development

Centre of the Heart of Slovenia from Litija is owner and manager of the brand The Heart of

Slovenia.

5. CURRENT SITUATION ON RURAL AND MOUNTAIN

TOURISM IN THE REGION THE HEART OF SLOVENIA

According to Statistical office of the Republic of Slovenia (SORS), the municipalities included

in the Heart of Slovenia achieved a 5 percent growth rate in the number of tourism

accommodations in 2013, compared to 2012. In the same time period, the number of tourist

arrivals and tourist nights grew by 13 percent and 6.5 percent accordingly. The growth in

arrivals and nights spent was fuelled mainly by domestic tourists, whose numbers grew by

30 percent and 26 percent, whereas the international tourists’ arrivals rose by 6 percent, but

the nights spent fell by 1 percent (SORS, 2014).

There are many natural and cultural attractions in The Heart of Slovenia area and some of

them are recognized on national level as tourism attractions. Main good practice from the

field of tourism in the Heart of Slovenia area are:

• Kamnik with old city centre: the medieval town of Kamnik is wrapped in numerous

legends. The former dress culture is remembered through the traditional event Dnevi

narodnih noš (National Costume Festival).


• Velika planina: is one of the few preserved settlements of this size in Europe. The

herdsmen still make excellent sour milk and homemade bread, as also the traditional

cheese “trnič”.

• Castle Bogenšperk (Šmartno pri Litiji): the location of the renaissance castle is in the

peaceful surroundings on the high hill among the forests, where polymath Janez

Vajkard Valvasor lived.

• Nature park Arboretum Volčji potok (Kamnik): is the only independent arboretum in

Slovenia. During the first of May exposition one tulip grows here for each Slovenian.

• Taste Kamnik: project with typical Kamnik culinary specialties with selection of

dishes, which have cultural value and represent a fusion of traditional and modern

cuisine.

• The Cistercian Monastery Stična (Ivančna Gorica): is the only operating Cistercian

monastery in Slovenia and one of the greatest cultural, church and architectural

monuments.

• Land of Hayracks (Šentrupert): is the first open-air museum of hayracks in the world.

It consists of 19 different drying structures originating from the Mirna Valley.

• The Charcoal Land (Litija): is one of the biggest charcoal-burner areas in Slovenia as

well as Europe

• Adventure park Geoss (Litija): a true adventure in the tree tops up to 11 metres

above the ground.

• Geometric centre of Slovenia – GEOSS (Litija): it represents the heart of Slovenia.

• The Tunjice Natural Health Resort (Kamnik): is the only centre in Slovenia with

scientifically-proven healing effects on a variety of conditions and diseases.

• Pr Krač Homestead (Dol pri Ljubljani): The farm offers an inn and accommodations

with tradition, stroll around estate with park and orchard, insight into the local

lifestyle and contact with domestic animals and intact nature.

Visitors are usually interested in more than just one or two attractions. They are interested

in experience and they come to the area with a certain motif (a short trip, active vacation,

recreation, etc.). The Heart of Slovenia is a perfect destination for travel in the countryside.

Integrated approach in promoting tourism in the area is very important (common actions,

workshops, trainings, events, fairs for providers etc).


The Heart of Slovenia area

6. STAKEHOLDERS

By including stakeholders and local communities in the decision-making process, the socio-

cultural aspects of rural and mountain destinations help promote sustainable tourism

development (Rescia, Pons, Lomba, Esteban, & Dover, 2008). Stakeholder participation is

therefore key for achieving sustainability of rural and mountain destinations; including local

stakeholders in planning and policy making is a way forward for the entire community (Soliva

et al., 2008). Increasing knowledge through stakeholder involvement contributes to

sustainable rural and mountain destination development (Breu, Maselli, & Hurni, 2005). By

focusing on a wider scope, we can see that multi-stakeholder collaboration shows promising

results in facilitating sustainable rural and mountain tourism development and should be

implemented on national, provincial and village levels (Kruk, Hummel, & Banskota, 2007). To

achieve such sustainable tourism development, support for change and the capacity to

change of the local population are crucial (Fallon & Kriwoken, 2003). At the same time, not

all things should be changed. Sometimes, being innovative is offering local products (Brandth

& Haugen, 2011) and promoting and preserving cultural heritage (Godde, 1998). This step

back to the roots can contribute to rural and mountain destination development.


The aim of implementation plan on local digital agenda is to raise the awareness of

stakeholders on how ICT tailors measures that can effectively improve the tourism offering

and services in rural areas, where business and SMEs are not always in a position to adapt

rapidly. Through adaptive stakeholder involvement, destinations can identify potential

bottlenecks in their ICT tourism strategy and also identify the possible improvements that

need to be made in order to provide pleasurable tourist experience.

That is why the Heart of Slovenia is active in their communication with stakeholders. There

are many different stakeholders in the field of tourism in the Heart of Slovenia area:

• Local governance, municipalities (Dol pri Ljubljani, Domžale, Ivančna Gorica, Kamnik,

Litija, Lukovica, Mengeš, Šentrupert, Šmartno pri Litiji and Zagorje ob Savi)

• Tourism providers (such as camping site Resnik, Snovik spa, eco and tourism farms

Kordiš, Fajdiga, Natural healing centre Tunjice, city pool Višnja Gora, cooperative

Jarina etc.)

• Tourism agencies (Kamnik Tourism and Sports Agency, Public entity Bogenšperk etc.)

• Tourism associations (such as tourism and sport associations Mengeš, Polšnik,

Dolsko, Beekeepers association of Slovenia etc.).

• Tourists – visitors

7. CURRENT SITUATION, ENVIRONMENT AND TRENDS

The key trends on a world level that have been identified to influence tourism until 2020 are:

• Globalization and long term economic trends

• Political trends

• Social trends

• Environment, Resources and Energy Trends

• Changes in Technology

These trends influence the tourists’ behaviour and their needs, as well as destination and

enterprise management, which culminate in new product development. Technology is

identified as the foremost management tool for successful performance and competitive

advantage in the new business operating environment. Since the trends in tourism gravitate

towards new technological developments, virtual marketing and new communication and

distribution channels, it is ever more important to implement new ICT solutions on the

national, regional as well as destination level in Slovenia. Destination management


organizations need to become proactive in adopting new technologies and use the new ICT

developments to create their competitive advantages.

The main objectives of Slovenian tourism are those of improving competitiveness, enhancing

the quality of life and welfare, building on reputation and development of Slovenian tourism,

and achieving recognition and good reputation of Slovenia in the World (see the picture

below). Based on these strategies, sub strategies were identified, some of which are closely

related to improvement of ICT and the results of the DANTE project could be used for its

improvement. These sub strategies are Innovative and efficient marketing via the virtual

world, Partnership marketing to achieve synergy effects and Stimulating R&D.


In order to analyse strategic cases in the strategic management process, SWOT analysis is

one of the more useful ones. It evaluates the opportunities, threats, strengths and

weaknesses of an organization (in our case destination). It is a good tool for decision-making

in terms of evaluation of the internal and external environments, which helps organizations

to build different strategies. Therefore, weaknesses and strengths analyse an internal

environment and threats and opportunities analyze the external environment. With such an

analysis, external and internal strategic factors that affect the organization’s future are

identified (Yüksel Ishan, 2007). According to the Slovenian Tourism Development Strategy

2012-2016, the following strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats were identified

for ICT in tourism in Slovenia: Table: SWOT analysis of infomation and communication technologies policies

Strengths Weaknesses

ICT as an important area of development is

included in the strategy.

• Human resources (including financial) are

scarce in the field of ICT


• Successful implementation of previous ICT

strategies at the STB level.

• Insufficient number of completed on-line

reservation and on-line payments of tourist

services

• Modern ICT strategy at the STB level. • Lack of connectedness between

stakeholders, lack of quality partnerships

• Many small businesses are included in the

CRS and presented in the STIP.

• Lack of education and dissemination of the

knowledge in the field of ICT

• A good visit to STIP. • Lack of ICT research (monitoring of activities)

• STB has a fairly well-developed CRM B2B

system.

• Number of tourists to get information about

Slovenia on the Internet is low.

• High levels of booking accommodation

through the internet in Slovenia

• Tourism businesses do not use social

networks effectively.

• The professional staff of the STB are

included in the international ICT associations

and international professional teams

• CRS did not reach expectations

• ICT is not a key developmental area in tourism

businesses

Opportunities Threats

• Developed ICT infrastructure • Too slow to response to changes

• Active use of mobile technologies • Lack of a uniform European market for

telecommunications services

• Applications that do not require connection

to the Internet.

• Too much outsoursing in ICT (loss of contact

with the trends, in the long run costs tend to

grow).

• A single European market for

telecommunications services

• Positive environmental and social impacts of

mobile services

• Integrating social networking with CRM-

system on B2B-and B2C-level

Source: Slovenian Tourism Development Strategy 2012-2016.

According to the Slovenian Tourism Development Strategy 2012-2016, ICT is identified as

one of the eight main policies for development. Not enough attention was put on e-

marketing. In the new strategy, authors suggest that this area is included as the integral part

of marketing strategy. Not enough attention was put on education, cooperation and

dissemination of knowledge. There is a need for more cooperation with Slovenian ICT sector.

STB shoud act as an intermediary for education and transfer of good practices. Central

reservation system (CRS) does not attain desired results, an issue which should be

addressed. R&D is not represented enough in ICT area of Slovenian tourism. A system of

mointoring should be put forward. Trends show the need to move towards usage of mobile


phones for marketing tourism services and social media should be used more effectively,

data should be used for market research.

Current situation in the scope of use of ICT for tourism promotion in The Heart of Slovenia

area:

• Presentation of local tourism providers on the internet: web sites of individual

tourism providers (hotels, restaurants, hostels, tourism farms, sport centres etc.).

Many of them do not have quality enough web site (lack of information, pictures, not

attractive descriptions of their offer etc.).

Example of individual web site of tourism provider (Adventure Park Geoss)

• Presentation of common tourism offer on the internet: web portal The Heart of

Slovenia www.srce-slovenije.si with 3 main pillars: tourism, environment and

entrepreneurship. Tourism portal (www.srce-slovenije/turizem) was launched in

December 2012. The administrator of web portal is Development Centre of the Heart

of Slovenia who is also owner of brand The Heart of Slovenia. There is big interest by

tourism providers to be presented on web portal, but only quality offer from the area

is presented on the web portal.


Tourism portal of The Heart of Slovenia area

• Mobile application e-turist (e-tourist) – electronic mobile tourist guide for smart

phones and devices was launched in September 2013 in cooperation of Development

Centre of the Heart of Slovenia, Faculty of Tourism Studies – Turistica, Municipality of

Litija and Institute Jozef Stefan. An application for mobile phones offers the same

experience as a qualified tourist guide. With this we strive to offer a unified access to

tourism information in the area of the Heart of Slovenia and in the area of the

Slovenian Istria. There are 120 tourism attractions included from The Heart of

Slovenia area. Tourists enter their interests (culture, nature, sport, cuisine, etc.) in

the application, time availability as well as their needs and wishes. According to these

data, the application prepares tours adjusted to the tourists' requirements. Then the

application guides tourists with the help of GPS and provide a detailed description

when visiting different sights. Sights descriptions are written and spoken in several

languages, pictures are added as well. After visiting the sights, visitors can give their

opinions, which the system takes into consideration when preparing tours for future

visitors.


Mobile application e-tourist for The Heart of Slovenia area

• QR codes on cycle routes – there are 32 cycling routes of various difficulties in the Heart

of Slovenia. The landscape is diverse, thus suitable for families, less demanding as well as

more experienced cyclists. In the handy cycling guide which was published in 2012 there are

QR codes for each cycle route with link to the web site. Users can download cycle routes to

their smart phones and use them without a paper guide.

QR codes in cycling guide of the Heart of Slovenia


• Social networks – Many of tourism providers use Facebook as a tool for promotion of

their offer. Also common offer of The Heart of Slovenia area is presented on

Facebook. A page »Srce Slovenije / The Heart of Slovenia« was established in October

2012. There are 1.300 fans on Facebook page in this moment (June 2014). Some of

the tourism providers also use other social network for promotion: Twitter,

FourSquare, LinkedIn.

Facebook page The Heart of Slovenia (December 2013)


Facebook page The Heart of Slovenia (June 2014)

Example of Facebook page of tourism provider (Velika planina)


Example of Twitter account of tourism provider (Snovik Spa – Terme Snovik)

Example of FourSquare profile of tourism provider (Bogenšperk castle)


Key success factors for the improvement:

• Presentation of tourism providers on national tourism web portal www.slovenia.info

with central management and updating.

• Active participation in social networks – Facebook as there is still a lot of potential as

only less than half tourism providers from the area use it at the moment and on

other social networks such as Twitter, LinkedIn, FourSquare, Pinterest.

8. STRATEGICAL INTEGRATION OF ICT INTO THE RURAL AND

MOUNTAIN TOURISM POLICY AGENDA OF THE HEART OF

SLOVENIA

The implementation plan is a manifest how each participating region in the DANTE project

commits itself to integrate, after the end of the project, the lessons learnt into its local and

regional digital agenda.

Long term strategy for integrating ICT into the regional rural and mountain policy agenda is

strongly connected to New Regional Development Programme of The Heart of Slovenia for

period 2014-2020 which was prepared by Development Centre of the Heart of Slovenia in

2014. It was prepared in cooperation with many stakeholders form the area. There were

workshops and individual meetings carried out with goal to prepare as much realistic and

quality document as possible.

Vision, mission, key values and main strategic programmes and guidelines are included in

the Regional Development Programme for The Heart of Slovenia for period 2014-2020.

The vision of the Heart of Slovenia area is to be a place of opportunities. Values of The Heart

of Slovenia brand are: creativity, excellence (quality), uniqueness, security and networking.

The mission of the Heart of Slovenia area is to develop the area in which people like to live

because they can be creative and live quality life. Shaping a rounded area in the center of

the country The Heart of Slovenia represents a place where person like to act, work and live.

We connect individuals, communities, initiatives, projects, products, services and enable

unique experiences and adventures. The Heart of Slovenia joins fields of entrepreneurship,

tourism and the environment in the broadest sense.


The Strategic model of The Heart of Slovenia brand (2014)

Strategic development objectives according to New Regional Development Programme for

The Heart of Slovenia for period 2014-2020 are arising from the needs in the area, from

promoting of balanced regional development and are in accordance with related European,

national and regional documents. 3 main strategic development objectives are:

1. Supportive development environment for the promotion of various activities

2. Self-sufficiency of the area which is based on the use of its own resources (natural

and human)

3. High quality of living for all residents Heart of Slovenia with a strong identity to the

area


Rural policy agenda for The Heart of Slovenia for the next 7 years:

• Network of craftsman of the Heart of Slovenia (traditional craft skills and

knowledge)

• Supportive environment for entrepreneurship (small and medium enterprises)

• Intergenerational network for the support of elderly (introduction of new innovative

products and services for elderly)

• Energy office for citizens (energy efficiency, renewable energy etc.)

• Self-sufficiency of the area with food (supply of kindergartens and schools with local

home made products from the area)

• Tourism destination The Heart of Slovenia (promotion of tourism offer of the area,

new tourism products, integration of ICT)

The last one of above mentioned (Tourism destination The Heart of Slovenia) is the most

important aspect in the focus of this document. It is strongly highlighted in the document

that integration of ICT is extremly important when planning the activities in the field of

promotion of tourism destination. ICT is one of the most important strategic directions in

the document which will be placed into all the operational projects for the next period.

The document was prepared in cooperation with 10 municipalities included in the

Development partnership of the Centre of Slovenia. It is an interest connection of

municipalities in the area of the Heart of Slovenia. It includes the following 12 municipalities:

Dol pri Ljubljani, Domžale, Ivančna Gorica, Kamnik, Litija, Lukovica, Mengeš, Šentrupert,

Šmartno pri Litiji and Zagorje ob Savi. The Development Centre of the Heart of Slovenia

ensures professional support for the realization of projects approved with annual work

programmes to the municipalities included in the partnership.

The Development Partnership of the Centre of Slovenia, operating from 2006, considers the

trademark The Heart of Slovenia as a mutual identity which geographically unites the area in

the shape of a heart with the geometric centre of Slovenia GEOSS as a central point.

The basis for the operation of the Development Partnership of the Centre of Slovenia is a

strategic-programme plan of the Regional Development Programme of the Heart of Slovenia

which encompasses identification of the main capabilities of the area, values, natural and

cultural resources, taking into account the needs of the modern man, marketing potential,

and absorbent capabilities of the area.


9. OPERATIONAL INTEGRATION OF ICT INTO THE RURAL

AND MOUNTAIN TOURISM POLICY AGENDA OF THE HEART

OF SLOVENIA

The rules for traditional marketing have changed with the appearance of the Internet and

the social networks. There are currently many destinations that use the social networks as

promotion channels, a phenomenon known as social marketing. These two-way channels

enable conversations with customers, turning the audience into partners in our

communication, while also fostering loyalty.

This transformation in traditional marketing has provided numerous advantages: one of the

most important is segmentation. Thus, as traditional marketing campaigns provided few

opportunities for in-depth segmentation, the social networks permit a much greater degree

of sophistication in this field, making segmentation possible by country, age, sex, hobbies

and more, thus fine-tuning our communication goals. Also, the return on investment is

easier to measure, as there are a large number of tools for the precise assessment of

campaign results (number of visits, followers, 'Like' votes, etc.). Finally, the cost of these

types of campaign are generally much lower than traditional campaigns.

The most popular social networks in the use of promotion of tourism destinations are:

Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Foursquare, TripAdvisor, Twittter, Flickr, Pinterest,

LinkedIn.

The aim of The Heart of Slovenia destination is to make the 2.0 channels a tool to link the

destination with users and innovating in new promotional formats on the social networks.

Following actions are planned in order for integration of ICT into the tourism policy agenda

in The Heart of Slovenia:

Activity Implemented by: When:

Organization of trainings of tourism

providers on the use of different ICT tools

in tourism - workshops and individual

sessions on social networks, mobile

Development Centre of

the Heart of Slovenia

Spring 2014, autumn

2014 and further on

twice a year


application, we presence, digital trends

Technical upgrade of tourism web portal

The Heart of Slovenia www.srce-

slovenije.si/turizem (to make it more

marketing-oriented and translate it to 3

foreign languages)



Summer 2014

Inclusion of 50 new tourism providers on

tourism web portal The Heart of Slovenia


the Heart of Slovenia in

cooperation with

tourism providers

Summer 2014

New tourism products and programmes

with emphasis on ICT



cooperation with

tourism providers

Summer 2014

Entry of tourism providers to social

network FourSquare



Summer 2014

Individual web sites of tourism providers Tourism providers Ongoing activity

Update of descriptions on national

tourism web portal of Slovenia

www.slovenia.info



Autumn 2014 and

further on once a year

Digital campaign – Social media marketing

(SMM Campaign)

Digital Agency E-laborat Summer 2014

Establishment of profiles of tourism

providers on social networks: Facebook,

Foursquare, TripAdvisor, Flickr, Pinterest



cooperation with

tourism providers

Ongoing activity

The Heart of Slovenia photo competition

on Instagram



cooperation with

tourism providers and

National tourist board

2015

Inclusion of new tourism providers in

mobile application E-turist



cooperation with

Autumn 2014 and

further on once a year


tourism providers

Monitoring of implementation of operational integration of ICT into the tourism policy

agenda of the Heart of Slovenia will be carried out by following several indicators:

• Number of visits on tourism web portal The Heart of Slovenia

• Number of tourism providers using different social networks for promotion of their

services

• Interactions on social network platforms (Facebook, Foursquare, Twitter,

• Etc.

Relevant funding mechanisms to support targeted activities and to accommodate future

activities:

Development Centre of the Heart of Slovenia has many experiences in raising funds from

different sources on national and European level. It has cooperated in 20 transnational

projects with 160 partners from 28 different countries within 11 different programmes

(INTERREG IIIB, Alpine Space, Central Europe, Billateral international development help of

Slovenia to developing countries, Europe for Citizens, LLL - Leonardo da Vinci, MED,

INTERREG IVC Swiss contribution, IEE – Intelligent Energy Europe and SEE - South East

Europe).

With many experiences and wide network of partners all around Europe it is focused on

raising funds for main fields of development also in the next EU programming period. Among

existing programmes we will also focus on new funding schemes that are directly connected

to ICT and tourism: Connecting Europe Facility (seamless cross-border public services such as

eProcurement, eHealth, or Open Data) and the new EU Research programme “Horizon

2020”

Documents

IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR THE HEART OF SLOVENIA AREA …danteproject.eu/sites/danteproject.eu/files/ip/Implementation_Plan... · Digital agenda for New Tourism Approach in European