AlpLink – Smart Mobility for Sustainable Alps

AlpLink – Smart Mobility for Sustainable Alps

We are proud to announce that the AlpLink team, which includes a current student and a former student of Turistica, Zoja Potočnik and Sebastian Fischer, has achieved an outstanding success by winning 1st prize at the Pitch Your Project 2025 competition, held within the framework of the EUSALP strategy. AlpLink is an innovative project in the field of smart and sustainable mobility, and the EUR 5,000 award represents an important boost for the further development of an idea that addresses one of the key challenges of contemporary Alpine tourism.

When the popularity of the Alps becomes a challenge

The Slovenian Alps are more popular than ever. However, mass tourism also brings negative consequences: traffic congestion, increased CO₂ emissions, and pressure on fragile natural ecosystems. AlpLink responds to these challenges with a community-based car-sharing service, where local drivers offer hikers and visitors transport to trail starting points and back. The result? Fewer private cars, a lower carbon footprint, and stronger connections within local communities.

The project is clearly aligned with the European Green Deal and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, as it promotes low-carbon, inclusive, and people-centred tourism. Thanks to its flexible design, AlpLink also has strong potential to expand to other Alpine regions and countries.

A team driven by values

Behind AlpLink stands a trio of young, socially engaged innovators united by shared values of sustainability, inclusion, and volunteerism. They recognised opportunities such as EUSALP Pitch Your Project as a step toward professionalising their previous volunteer-based work:

• Zoja Potočnik – 3rd-year Bachelor’s student of Tourism Enterprise Management at Turistica
• Sebastian Fischer – 2nd-year Bachelor’s student of Social Management at FUDŠ and former student of Turistica
• Eva Gabrijelčič – Master’s graduate in Primary Education with English, 2nd-year Master’s student of Marital and Family Therapy at TEOF UL

In preparing and presenting the project to the expert jury at the finalists’ meeting on 25 November 2025 in Innsbruck, the team also received valuable support from Dr Dejan Križaj, lecturer at Turistica, to whom special thanks are due.

Achievements that confirm the project’s potential

The success at the EUSALP competition is not an isolated case. In 2025, AlpLink was recognised on several additional levels:

• Winner of EUSALP Pitch Your Project 2025
• Finalist of the Slovenian Youth Award for Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development ADRASTOS 2025, in the Visions of the Future category
• Participant in the Impact Launchpad programme at Impact Hub Ljubljana, where the project is being developed alongside 28 selected initiatives for a better world

Looking forward

AlpLink demonstrates that innovation, cooperation, and local knowledge can make a meaningful contribution to greener and more people-centred tourism. The project not only offers solutions to mobility challenges in the Alps, but also creates employment opportunities for students and strengthens the role of local communities in sustainable regional development.

Sincere congratulations to the entire team on their achievements so far – we are delighted that such inspiring stories are emerging within our community.