7th UNESCO UNITWIN conference "World Heritage and Tourism Innovation" at UP FTŠ TURISTICA in Portorož

In 2018, researchers of cultural tourism at the University of Primorska, Faculty of Tourism Studies - Turistica aspiringly applied for the organisation of the 7th International Scientific Conference of the UNESCO UNITWIN Network for Culture, Tourism and Development. In November 2018, the Network’s Council, based at the University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne and consisting of representatives from 31 universities, recognised the research area of heritage and tourism innovation as a priority and selected the University of Primorska, Faculty of Tourism Studies Turistica as the organiser of the 7th UNESCO UNITWIN conference.

The UNESCO UNITWIN conferences are held biennially with support of the UNESCO UNITWIN University Network, organized by individual members of the network. It is one of the main scientific meetings of heritage tourism researchers, which has been organised on three continents so far. The 7th UNESCO UNITWIN Conference on Culture, Tourism and Development in Slovenia should have been held in spring of 2021, but was postponed to 2022 due to the global coronavirus pandemic.

The 7th UNESCO UNITWIN conference entitled "World Heritage and Tourism Innovation" is organized by UP FTŠ TURISTICA in cooperation with partners who made it possible for the conference to be held live in Portorož, partly online and also at World Heritage sites in Slovenia (Škocjan Caves and Plečnik's Ljubljana). The partners of the 7th UNESCO UNITWIN conference in Portorož are AIRTH - Alliance for Innovators and Researchers in Tourism and Hospitality, Slovenian Tourist Board, Portorož Tourist Board, Municipality of Piran, Maritime Museum in Piran, Ljubljana Tourism, Ljubljana Škocjan Caves Park, Sava hotels and resorts, ArtRebel, Nomago and Vivo Catering.

It is an important event that unites heritage and tourism not only in the field of international scientific research, but also in the field of strategic development of Slovenia. Therefore, the conference will be supported at the opening by the Secretary General of UNESCO Slovenia Gašper Hrastelj and the Director of the Slovenian Tourist Board Ilona Stremecki.