More than 300,000 local and foreign guests visited Vintgar Gorge in 2024
The Vintgar Gorge, one of the most recognizable and visited natural values in Slovenia, is closing its doors on November 4th for this year.
This year’s season was exceptional in Vintgar, as over 300,000 local and foreign guests have visited it.
Last Thursday, October 24th Tourist Association Gorje organized a special event in the Vintgar Gorge for business partners, colleagues, and everyone who contributed to a very successful season.
This day was very unique in the history of the Tourist Association Gorje having in mind that among many distinguished guests, Vintgar Gorge hosted also a group of VIP visitors, namely diplomats who live and work in Slovenia and who visited Vintgar Gorge for the 1st time.
A custom-made guided tour of the Gorge offered diplomats the opportunity to discover the beauties of Vintgar.
When asked about their impressions after the visit, the diplomats from nine embassies based in Slovenia, namely five ambassadors, their spouses, and other distinguished diplomatic representatives who attended the VIP Vintgar tour said that they would most certainly share their magical experience from the day in the Vintgar Gorge with their friends, families, and coworkers.
Tourist Association Gorje, its management and the Vintgar team were happy to show the guests the magic of nature that Slovenia has to offer.
The foreign guests were truly mesmerized by the beauty, serenity and uniqueness Vintgar and they testified that they will also suggest to their guests who visit Slovenia from their native countries to come and visit Vintgar Gorge because, here, the visitors can experience the genuine connection with the nature, the soothing sounds of the Radovna river and relaxing moments in the embrace of the forests.
Vintgar Gorge hosted diplomats from nine embassies; namely the USA, Poland, Slovak Republic, North Macedonia, Romania, Algeria, Georgia, Greece, and Montenegro.
Among the present diplomats, several ambassadors also attended this unique event; H.E. Peter Zeleňák, Ambassador of the Slovak Republic to the Republic of Slovenia, H.E. Goran Milevski, Ambassador of North Macedonia to the Republic of Slovenia, H.E. Sabrina Kaci-Bey, Ambassador of Algeria to the Republic of Slovenia, Head of the Mission of the Embassy of Georgia to Slovenia Mr. Konstantine Surguladze and H.E. Mr Alexandru Grădinar Ambassador of Romania to Republic of Slovenia.
The hosts of this exceptional day organized for VIP guests were the president of the Tourist organization Gorje Janez Poklukar, the director of Vintgar Gorge, Bojan Traven and the leader of the professional service Matija Topolovec as well as the hard-working team of Vintgar Gorge.
The Vintgar Gorge, one of the most recognizable and visited natural values in Slovenia, is closing its doors for this year on Monday, November 4, 2024. This year’s season was exceptional in Vintgar, as over 300,000 local and foreign guests were able to enjoy many novelties.
The Gorje Tourist Association, which has been managing the Gorge for over 100 years, has completely renovated the Vintgar Entrance Center, which is now also a place for sustainable education. Numerous workshops and lectures took place in the center over the year. Regular electric shuttles were provided from three remote parking lots to the Vintgar Entry Center.
At the end of the season, the president of the Gorje Tourist Association, Janez Poklukar, emphasizes that this season the Vintgar Gorge management wanted to find a delicate balance between the protection of natural values, the well-being of the local population, and an authentic visit by visitors to the Vintgar Gorge. “We were concerned about the introduction of electric buses, as we are aware that visitors are used to parking close to their destination. But both visitors and local residents quickly realized that, in addition to protecting the environment, electric shuttle bus services have many advantages for themselves as well. Residents were significantly relieved of the crowd, and tourists did not have to think about finding parking spaces”, concludes Poklukar.
The path through the gorge has been one-way for several years. Professional guidance through the Vintgar Gorge was also introduced this year.
“The visitor could choose between audio guidance or professional guidance from an educated guide who is part of the Vintgar Guide Service. The guide service also provides mandatory helmets when visiting the gorge, all with the goal of a safe and enjoyable tour of the gorge, which is becoming the central point of every tourist visiting Slovenia”, emphasized Matija Topolovec, head of the professional service at Soteska Vintgar.
“With this season, Soteska Vintgar is resolutely approaching its goal. With renewed infrastructure, digitization of ticket purchases, professional guidance through the gorge, electric shuttle sustainable transport and the upgrade of the circular route and the inclusion of two thematic routes, the Vintgar Gorge is becoming a model example of natural value management. We offer a professional, responsible, in-depth and authentic experience of this unique natural value of national importance, as well as the Triglav National Park as the only national park in Slovenia,” points out the director of Soteska Vintgar Bojan Traven and adds that in the coming year, they will pay even more attention to the sustainable aspect of the management of this unique destination.