New COVID  Vouchers Released Today – for Hotels, Restaurants, Concerts, Gyms, Ski Resorts & More

STA, 16 July 2021 - Starting from Friday, all Slovenian residents can benefit from a new batch of government-sponsored vouchers, which unlike the holiday-at-home vouchers issued last year, can be redeemed for a variety of services and goods, including textbooks for schoolchildren.

Learn how to check your vouchers at the end of this story

Part of the government Covid-19 relief aid, the vouchers come in two amounts, at EUR 100 for adults and EUR 50 for those under 18, and are thus valued at a total of EUR 192.2 million.

They can be used to pay for goods and services in tourism, hospitality, sports and culture, the sectors hit hardest by lockdowns. The first booking on the new voucher was made just after midnight and the first voucher was redeemed in Koper at 6:30am.

Presenting the details on Friday, Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek said the vouchers can be redeemed until the end of the year at tourism accommodation facilities, bars and restaurants, bookshops, museums and concerts, gyms and sport clubs, amusement parks and ski resorts.

Those who have not yet redeemed last year's vouchers, which can only be used for accommodation and breakfast, will be able to combine them with the new vouchers with the same provider.

Out of last year's EUR 365.8 million worth of vouchers (at EUR 200 and 50), the minister said 53% or about EUR 153.6 million worth have been booked or redeemed. The latter figure is lower because some have redeemed only part of their voucher.

The vouchers are part of the latest Covid-19 relief package, valued at EUR 243.5 million, with the bulk of measures aimed at tourism. "This is not the only aid for Slovenian tourism, which was hit hardest by the pandemic," said Počivalšek.

The industry was closed for much of last year and this, but has benefited from EUR 705 million worth of various support measures under the eight stimulus laws, or a total of more than one billion euro when other measures are included.

Počivalšek announced the ministry was working on a one-off extra aid for the most affected parts of tourism, which would benefit city hotels, travel agencies that bring visitors to Slovenia and the convention industry.

Check your balance by going to eDavki as a ‘natural person’, clicking on Vpogledi / Insights in the column on the left, the scrolling down to Vpogled v unovčene bone / Insight into redeemed vouchers. The site plays nicely with Google Translate, if needed.

STA, 7 July 2021 - The National Assembly passed on Wednesday an emergency bill worth EUR 243.5 million to help the embattled tourism sector. The short-time work scheme has been extended and new holiday vouchers introduced. The opposition warned that the measures, which are this time aimed at the most affected sectors, came too late and were insufficient.

The stimulus package for tourism and other sectors most affected by the Covid-19 epidemic brings new vouchers for a wide range of services that can be used in accommodation facilities, restaurants, and even bookshops, theatres, for concerts or various sports and other activities.

Adults will receive vouchers worth EUR 100 and those under 18 EUR 50. The total value of the vouchers is EUR 192 million.

Previous vouchers, worth EUR 200 for adults and EUR 50 for those under 18, could only be used for accommodation. They were introduced on 19 June last year, and according to data by the Financial Administration, EUR 146 million has been redeemed so far, some 41% of the total value.

Both the old and the new vouchers can be spent until the end of the year.

The new emergency bill also brings a series of measures to help companies in tourism, convention industry, restaurants, sports and culture.

This includes the EUR 20 million extension of the short-time work scheme for all sectors at least until the end of September with the possibility of extending it until the end of the year.

For tourism, hospitality, the events industry, sports and culture, subsidies for 2021 holiday allowance will also be available.

The legislation also delivers an 80% or 60% cost refund for event organisers from August until the end of the year, waiver of fees for water rights for swimming pools for the first half of this year, and a 25% refund for the cost of production of audiovisual works until the end of the year. Ski lift operators that were not allowed to work for a time during this year's ski season will also get aid to offset part of their shortfall in revenue.

According to Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek, the situation in the economy in general is very good and businesses are expected to recover quickly. But some sectors have been particularly affected, so rather than preparing a ninth stimulus package, the government decided to draw up a special emergency law just for tourism and associated sectors, he told MPs on Tuesday.

Mihael Prevc from the coalition New Slovenia (NSi) said that the latest emergency bill complemented the previously introduced measures which had proved to be effective, and brought new temporary measures for the economy and tourism.

Marko Pogačnik from the ruling Democrats (SDS) pinpointed the extension of subsidies for shorter working hours, state co-funding of holiday allowance for employees in sectors that were hit the hardest, and aid for the convention film and audiovisual industries and for ski lift operators.

Outside the coalition, the National Party (SNS) and Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) expressed support for the bill, while the rest of the opposition was critical. The centre-left opposition mainly regretted the government had not delivered on its promise to pay out one-off aid to businesses which had been banned from working due to government decrees.

"Such direct aid would be the most economical and would give those affected an immediate liquidity boost to restart their business while compensating for what they lost because of the epidemic," said Marko Bandelli from the Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB) on Tuesday.

Economy Ministry State Secretary Simon Zajc agreed yesterday that such payment to the most affected would be necessary, adding that a proposal on this would be drawn up and that the money would come from cohesion funds, however this has not materialised.

Meira Hot from the Social Democrats (SD) said the cultural sector and NGOs should have also received aid.

The fiercest criticism came from Robert Pavšič, an MP for the Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ), who said the government had been carefree and even negligent in drawing up the measures, and Primož Siter from the Left, who said aid was coming much too late.

"You will be distributing new vouchers; this smells like pre-election bribery," said Pavšič. Siter said the Left opposed the bill because it offered aid to the capital not the people.

Some MPs warned that some provisions from the stimulus package were not related to the epidemic such as the extension of validity of ID cards that expired as of 29 March 2020, temporary use of money from the Fund for Waters including for the financing of services of general economic interest, extension of validity of miners' rights, extension of payment deadlines for deregistered vehicles, and Sunday opening of shops at airports.

Regardless of a ban on Sunday shopping, shops at airports may be open on Sundays and holidays until the end of 2022 under the stimulus package. Moreover, shops in tourist information centres and museums will also be permitted to be open on Sundays.

The legislation was endorsed in a 47:8 vote with the coalition, DeSUS, SNS and minority MPs voting in favour of it. The Left was the only party that voted against, whereas the rest of the centre-left opposition abstained.

STA, 17 June 2021 - The government has passed an emergency law to help the embattled tourism sector. The package is worth EUR 243.5 million, with new tourist vouchers accounting for the bulk of new spending. Businesses think the aid falls short.

All adults residing in Slovenia as of 30 June will get a EUR 100 voucher to spend on activities ranging from tourism and restaurants to sports and culture. Those under 18 will get vouchers worth EUR 50. The total value of the vouchers is EUR 192 million.

Last year adults got tourism vouchers worth EUR 200 each and children EUR 50 each redeemable at accommodation providers, a package worth almost EUR 357 million. As of mid-May, EUR 130 million in vouchers had been redeemed.

The second principal measure is a package of furlough subsidies for the sector worth EUR 20m from 1 July, when the national furlough scheme expires, until 30 September, with the option of expansion until the end of the year.

Other measures in the new bill include subsidised holiday allowance, refunds of expenses for the convention industry, and a 25% refund of expenses for film and audiovisual production.

Additional money for the sector will also come from EU funds. Monika Kirbiš Rojs, state secretary at the Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy, told an event today that EUR 127 million in grants would be available for tourism investments under the national recovery and resilience plan.

"We're one of the few member states that decided to invest in tourism and culture. These two industries have suffered substantial damage during the Covid-19 pandemic and had not had sufficient investments in the past. We want to make up for that," she said.

Businesses voiced disappointment with the legislation, noting that they had expected much more given how the sector has suffered through the pandemic.

The Chamber of Trade Crafts and Small Business (OZS) said the legislation fell short as several measures that had been discussed with them did not make the cut.

"We appeal to the government to include certain aid instruments that we had been promised," OZS president Branko Meh said in a press release.

The Slovenian Business Club aired similar grievances, stressing that the sector remained subject to certain restrictions that no longer apply to most businesses after it had been shut down longer than any other sector.

"We agree that measures cannot last unreasonably long ... But we must now forget that not all industries and companies are in the same position and have not been equally affected by the epidemic," it said.

Commenting on the criticism, Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek said it was true that "some of our measures" did not make the cut, but he stressed that the government had to be mindful of the state of public finances.

He also said that many previous measures had significantly helped the industry. "In total, we will have provided nearly a billion euro in aid to the industry," he wrote on Twitter.

STA, 3 December 2020 - The government extended the validity of tourism vouchers until the end of 2021 on Thursday. Announcing the move, government spokesman Jelko Kacin said that the decision aimed to help the tourism sector, which has been badly hit by the epidemic.

Tourism vouchers were introduced as part of the third stimulus package, which was passed in parliament in late May.

They were given to all Slovenian residents - adults received a voucher of EUR 200 and minors EUR 50. The vouchers could be redeemed only in exchange for accommodation services.

The measure kicked in on 19 June and was available until the closure of all accommodation facilities during the autumn lockdown in late October.

The government first set down that the vouchers would be valid until the end of 2020, however already prior to the closure of hotels it acknowledged the possibility of extending the validity period.

The Financial Administration (FURS) data show that by 1 October some 883,100 vouchers worth EUR 113,74 million were redeemed.

Over two million persons received the vouchers, with the total value of the measure being EUR 356.9 million.

Holiday vouchers saved the summer tourism season in various places, particularly on the coast, in mountain resorts and spas.

On the other hand, the measure barely had an impact on the situation of accommodation providers in cities, and certain other destinations more popular among foreign tourists.

STA, 29 September 2020 - More than 820,000 electronic tourist vouchers worth over 113 million euro, which is a third of the total sum available, were partly or fully redeemed by yesterday, fresh data from the Financial Administration (FURS) shows.

The Economy Ministry, which circulated FURS's data, said a recent survey had shown 90% of Slovenian residents intended to spend the vouchers until the end of the year, the deadline to use them.

The poll carried out by Valicon between 18 and 21 September showed that 36% of all permanent residents had already spent their vouchers, whereas 50% still intended to do so. Only 7% of those polled said they would not use their vouchers, the ministry said in a release on Monday.

As many as 57% of those who paid for accommodation and/or breakfast with vouchers were very happy with the service; the average satisfaction mark on the 1-5 scale was 4.4.

As part of the third stimulus package taken amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the government distributed vouchers worth EUR 345 million to help the tourism industry.

An adult permanent resident received EUR 200 and children and youth under 18 EUR 50. First payments with vouchers were possible on 19 June.

STA, 25 August 2020 - The Slovenian tourism industry, which has been severely affected by the Covid-19 epidemic, saw an upbeat trend in Slovenian tourist arrivals and nights in July, partly offsetting the low numbers from the first half of the year, show the latest figures released by the Statistics Office on Tuesday.

Over 653,000 arrivals were recorded at accommodation facilities in July, down 27.5% compared to July 2019, with the number of nights down by 18.5% to 2.07 million.

However, the number of Slovenian tourists in the overall number increased by 176% to almost 404,000, and the number of nights they spent there by 155% to nearly 1.4 million.

The number of foreign arrivals meanwhile dropped by 67% to slightly over 249,300, and the number of nights they spent in Slovenia by 66% to over 670,300.

Germans spent the most nights in Slovenia in July, or 33%, followed by the Dutch and Austrians (9% each), Czechs (8%) and Hungarians (7%).

The most popular areas for tourists, domestic and foreign, were mountainous areas, which accounted for 35% of all tourist nights, followed by the coast (29%).

Thirty percent of all nights were made at hotels, 27% at private rooms, self-catering units and houses, and 22% at camping sites.

Although several areas in Slovenia have had a good summer season, Slovenian tourism has been considerably affected by the epidemic, with facilities in full lockdown for several weeks.

The January-to-July period saw almost 1.6 million tourist arrivals, a 54% drop compared to the same seven-month period in 2019. Tourist nights meanwhile dropped by 48% to around 4.6 million.

In the first half of the year, arrivals by Slovenian tourists dropped by 5% but a 2% rise was recorded in nights generated by domestic guests compared to January-July last year. The number of foreign tourists arriving in Slovenia plummeted by 71% and the nights they generated by 68%.

The figures are in line with the Slovenian Tourist Board's projections of a 70% drop in foreign arrivals for the year and of a 50% overall drop because of a rise in domestic tourists.

To help the industry survive, the government introduced a special voucher scheme, giving every permanent resident EUR 200 to spend in Slovenia until the end of the year on bed and breakfast, with minors receiving EUR 50.

Presenting the latest figures about the vouchers, Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek said Sunday was a new milestone as over 500,000 vouchers had been redeemed.

"In a good two months since this measure was introduced, a quarter of all vouchers have already been spent, while bookings for another 30,000 have already been made."

Figures from the Financial Administration show that 511,554 vouchers, worth EUR 69.8 million, were redeemed between 19 June and 23 August, whereas the total value of vouchers available is around EUR 357 million.

Počivalšek believes the tourist vouchers have saved the summer season for many tourism companies or helped some survive the epidemic, at the same time enabling many to be able to afford to go on a holiday.

He is also confident that thanks to the vouchers, Slovenians have discovered many corners that have so far been less known and less visited. He hopes the thrill at discovering Slovenia turns into a trend of Slovenians spending at least part of their holidays at home.

Although it is too early to take stock of the summer season, Počivalšek said "we are better off than some comparable countries".

In July and August, tourist numbers at some locations were already on a par with or even better than last year, the only difference being that domestic tourists outnumbered foreign ones, he explained.

He believes these figures could hardly be reached if the epidemiological situation had not been kept under control. He thus urged tourism companies to be innovative in providing for coronavirus safety, so that foreign tourists could soon return in bigger numbers.

As for extending the use of vouchers into the spring of 2021, the minister said efforts were now focussed on encouraging people to use them by the end of the year.

"Should any other measures be needed, I believe we'll take them in time," Počivalšek said at a news conference in Ljubljana.

Over EUR 1 million in vouchers was spent a day in the period between 19 June and 23 August, with the average age of tourists using the vouchers at slightly over 38.

The figures also show over 55,700 people aged an average 64 years transferred their vouchers on family members, meaning many elderly did not go on holiday themselves.

You can see more of this data at SURS

STA, 15 August 2020 - The tourism vouchers have made for a good season in Gorenjska, one of Slovenia's prime tourism regions with its Alpine lakes of Bled and Bohinj and the mountain centre of Kranjska Gora. Tourism officials say domestic guests have almost fully offset the drop in foreign tourists, an exception being Bled where some hotels have remained closed.

According to the director of the Kranjska Gora Tourist Board Blaž Veber, capacities in the Upper Sava Valley in the north-west of the country are almost fully booked. Some vacancies remain in camps and in mountain huts since the weather has been a bit capricious this year.

Veber hopes the voucher system will be continued into next year, "since we know that the global situation is still very critical, that new hotspots are emerging and that things will not quickly get back to what they were before 9 March".

As many as 90% of the guests in Kranjska Gora this year have been Slovenians. Many have also been coming only for one-day trips, a development that has been observed for lake Bohinj as well, where this is being stimulated with more frequent and cheaper bus lines.

The director of Tourism Bohinj Klemen Langus said that capacities are 90% or 95% full and that is seems that July and August will see similar figures as last year after only 30% of last year's performance was recorded in June before the state-subsidised vouchers were introduced.

As many Slovenian only come for a one-day hike or a swim, domestic guests have been less dominant in accommodation facilities, but they have nonetheless been accounting for 60% to 65% of overnight stays.

Slovenian guest have meanwhile traditionally been a very small minority at Bled, where they usually account for only 5% of overnight stays.

Some hotels have remained closed this year, while the open ones have seen 70% to 80% of their capacities filled. Private room providers and the camping and glamping sites have on there been happy with the figures.

"Given the situation, we are fairly happy with the visit in August," Romana Purkart of Tourism Bled explained. July, with 60% of capacities filled, was much better than June but it cannot compare to last year, she added

More on Slovenia’s tourism vouchers

STA, 12 August - Domestic guests have flooded Slovenian tourist resorts this summer, due to uncertainties about travel abroad as well as government-sponsored tourism vouchers. In many places they have saved the tourism season, but they have also been causing problems, in particular in places where foreign guests used to dominate.

Slovenian media have been abuzz in recent weeks about stories of Slovenian guests misbehaving, in particular in places that would normally be outside their price range but have become affordable due to the tourism vouchers.

Šobec, a high-end campsite not far from Bled, warned earlier this week that they had Slovenian guests unaccustomed to camping and they were not familiar with campsite etiquette.

"We doubled all security services in the camp, we have assistance from police and security guards, but still some groups of guests are causing inadmissible unrest," the camp director said.

Similar complaints have come from campsites and hotels on the coast.

In one instance about 30 guests, reportedly Roma from south Slovenia, engaged in a shouting match at a campsite in Ankaran after they refused to pay their bills.

Police in Portorož, an upscale tourist town popular among wealthy Russian and Italian guests, have had their work cut out as well.

In the last few weeks they have had to deal with a drunk woman who bit a cop after being pulled over, and a drunk man who scattered trash around the road before lying down on the road surface.

Figures released today by the Piran police station, which covers Portorož, show the number of minor offences and crimes rising by almost a third this season. In July alone the number of criminal offences rose by 13% year-on-year.

Learn more about Slovenia’s tourism vouchers

STA, 11 August 2020 - Slovenians have used EUR 49.71 million worth of tourism vouchers between 19 June and 9 August, which is 14% of the amount made available as part of the government's stimulus scheme, in place until the end of the year. The coast, mountains and spas have been the primary beneficiaries, while cities are continuing to struggle.

The total value of tourism vouchers available to Slovenia's 2.08 million residents is EUR 356.9 million, with each adult having EUR 200 and each minor EUR 50 at their disposal to pay for accommodation and breakfast in hotels, self-catering units, camps, agritourism farms and other similar facilities.

Data from the Financial Administration show that 17.6% of the vouchers have been fully or partially redeemed so far, with 14% of the total amount available spent.

The coastal municipality of Piran stands out with EUR 9.9 million collected so far, while other coastal areas also benefited greatly - EUR 2.8 million worth of vouchers have been spent in Izola, EUR 1.7 million in Koper and EUR 1.6 million in Ankaran.

Major Alpine resorts have also been doing well. The figure for Kranska Gora is EUR 3.4 million, for Bohinj EUR 2.8 million and Bled EUR 1.7 million. Locations along the Soča river have been popular too, with Bovec for instance getting EUR 1.5 million through vouchers.

Spas have been doing well as well, in particular Moravske Toplice, which has secured EUR 2.7 million worth of payments through vouchers.

The figures are less encouraging for Ljubljana, with the capital recording EUR 397,000 worth of such payments, for Maribor (EUR 296,000), and Postojna with its caves (EUR 128,000).

The Slovenian Hospitality Chamber (TGZS) has highlighted this gap, while also pointing to the major decline seen at gaming destinations, some of which have seen only 10% of their capacities filled.

The vouchers have tilted the scales when it comes to the share of domestic and foreign guests in Slovenian tourism in favour of the former, which accounted for between 70% and 75% in July and August. The total figures are about a third below those seen last summer, the TGZS's Fedja Pobegajlo told the STA.

He noted that along with the discrepancies among individual municipalities, certain tourism sectors, such as agencies, transport companies, gaming companies, restaurants etc. have not benefited directly from the vouchers, as these cannot be used for their services.

According to the TGZS the amounts spent by guests on top of the vouchers have been below expectations, "while we are also surprised by the relatively low share of redeemed vouchers". Pobegajlo said the TGZS believes it would make sense to prolong the validity of the vouchers until next spring and adopted additional measures to help the sector.

More on Slovenia’s tourism vouchers

STA, 22 July 2020 - Hit Alpinea, the biggest provider of accommodation at the alpine resort of Kranjska Gora, is fairly happy with the occupancy rates this summer considering the situation. Most of the guests come from Slovenia with between 85% and 90% of them paying with the government vouchers.

The company's director Milan Sajovic has hailed the vouchers and the government furlough scheme as two very good measures in an interview with the STA. He would like both to be extended, the redemption of vouchers by the end of the 2020/21 winter season and the furlough scheme by the end of 2020.

Hit Alpinea, a subsidiary of the Nova Gorica-based gaming and tourism company Hit, employs over 200 people. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, it did not hire seasonal workers this year, so it currently has some 20 staff fewer than last summer.

From the second half of March until the end of May, 90% of the staff was on furlough before the share gradually decreased as hotels started to open in June. By 17 July, all four Alpinea hotels reopened, providing a total of 418 rooms.

Hotel beds were initially well occupied at weekends, but now the rates have also improved during the week. "The occupancy rates are much lower than last year's when he had between 80% and 100% during the summer season, but we're glad the occupancy is good considering the situation," said Sajovic.

On the downside, the guests are spending less. "The bulk of the demand is generated by tourist vouchers," a measure that Sajovic described as excellent for Kranjska Gora as well as the coastal and spa resorts, but less so for Ljubljana and some other destinations.

He believes the vouchers could have a long-term positive effect. Many Slovenians are holidaying in Kranjska Gora for the first time and hopefully they will return, having realised that the alpine resort is an excellent alternative to the crowded seaside resorts.

There are few foreign visitors in Kranjska Gora at the moment, but the situation is getting better. Sajovic estimates that Slovenians will generate between 60% and 70% of the nights spent in tourism accommodation in Kranjska Gora this summer and the rest will be foreigners.

Those come mostly from the countries within the 1,000-kilometre radius of Kranjska Gora. Most visitors at this time are Hungarians, Czechs, Germans, Austrians and Italians. The hope is that the coronavirus situation in those countries does not deteriorate and that border restrictions are not stiffened.

While Sajovic understands the gravity and unpredictability of the situation, he believes the government could ease border restrictions for groups of athletes on preparations, who do not mix with other guests and travel in some sort of quarantine anyway. Such groups are a major market segment for destinations such as Kranjska Gora.

Hit Alpinea has been operating at a profit in recent years. "After growth, we were doing better than average in the past years," a trend Sajovic says has been interrupted by the pandemic this year. "The situation this year is unique, but we're looking into the future, we need but to survive this year."

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