Wood in Tourism at Portorož: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow

The exhibition takes visitors on a journey through time, highlighting Portorož's longstanding history of incorporating wood into its tourism industry. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, visitors primarily arrived in Portorož by sea, traveling by barge from Trieste. The piers, walkways, and buildings along the shore, which served as the initial points of contact between the sea and the land, were predominantly constructed out of wood. As a result, it was wood that first greeted visitors to Portorož, playing an integral role in its early tourism industry.

On the other hand, the exhibition showcases the popularisation of wood culture in the context of sustainable development in Portorož, which has been awarded the golden Slovenia Green Destination award last year. In recent years, there has been an increased awareness among tourists about the use of sustainable materials in tourism. After decades of waste separation and reduction, efforts to reduce carbon footprint, and energy conservation, a new trend towards renewable resources, including wood, is rapidly gaining popularity among tourists, especially young people.

Wood is making a comeback, even in Portorož. There is no doubt about it. We only need to dispel doubts among the wider and professional public about whether it is worth using wood in tourism. Is it strong enough and fire-resistant? Does it have a short lifespan and is overpriced? Does it fit into an urban environment? Do tourists even notice the difference between wood and its imitations? Science helps us answer these questions. Research in modern wood processing and innovation laboratories provide evidence in favor of using wood.

The exhibition was organized by students and mentors of tourism, heritage tourism, and sustainable built environment programs at the University of Primorska. Guest partners, including the Anbot Association from Piran and the Faculty of Design from Ljubljana, also participated in the exhibition.