The renowned UNESCO UNITWIN international conference has come to an end

In three days of intensive discussions, connectiong, and networking in many languages ​​among 150 home and foreign participants from 35 countries, the conference justified the status of one of the most important and leading conferences in the world on UNESCO events. The organizing team succeeded to present an event with a remarkable impact on the international scientific discourse on the sustainable and innovative development of tourism, which will enable the World Heritage a safe integration and proper evaluation of its exceptional value. Following the conference, members of the UNESCO UNITWIN network met and decided to issue a publication with global guidelines for innovation for sustainable tourism at World Heritage sites.

The conference was attended by world-renowned experts from UNESCO organizations from all continents, eminent researchers of sustainable and innovative tourism and together, they confronted their views and looked for responses to the challenges of combining cultural heritage and tourism in a changing world. The aim is to promote a responsible and ethical vision of tourism as a means to the sustainable development of territories and the strengthening of cultural diversity. Among the main topics of the conference was innovation, which looks for solutions aimed at sustainable development. Tourist destinations that offer heritage tourism are particularly endangered of being driven away from their essence by unbridled development: a thoughtful intertwining of modernity with tradition and history.

As part of this prestigious international event UP FTŠ Turistica organized accompanying activities in cooperation with partners in order to present our cultural heritage. In addition to Piran, the participants also visited the Škocjan Caves and the newly listed UNESCO site of Plečnik's heritage in Ljubljana. The participants were enthusiastic about the visited gems of Slovenia.