Slovenia to begin offering tourism vouchers in bid to aid the struggling sector

Minors will be entitled to 50 euros worth of vouchers, while adults – 200

With the arrival of the summer season, many countries are looking for new ways to reboot their tourism sectors and to make travel – especially domestic – more attractive. Such initiatives might, in the end, prove essential for the sector’s recovery as some states across Europe remain more restrictive when it comes to allowing their citizens to travel outside their own respective borders.

Among the most impactful proposals put forward by the Slovene government has been the introduction of tourism vouchers to be used by the country’s citizens in order to make domestic travel more affordable for them, while also driving up demand and propping up venues like hotels and restaurants across Slovenia.

Proposal for the benefit of everyone

Specific rules on the use of the vouchers are just now being hammered out but some of the more concrete ideas are already put into place. Details of the project stipulate that:

• Minors will be entitled to vouchers worth 50 euros and adults – 200 euros
• The vouchers must be used in full by 31 December 2020
• The vouchers must be spent at a single place and at once and can be used for the purchase of accommodations and breakfast in hotels, for camps or for other kinds of tourism venues
• The vouchers will be reimbursed by Slovenia’s Financial Administration, thereby making sure that tourism-related businesses will receive the full amount of revenue that they are entitled to

Using the vouchers will become possible on the first day of school summer vacation – namely on 25 June, the day after children are finally allowed to enjoy their break properly. The project, in its entirety, will cost the Slovene budget a total of 345 million euros but it is estimated that those using them will generate revenue of at least 172 million euros by purchasing goods and services that are not covered by the vouchers.