Kranj, a pioneer of sustainable tourism in Europe
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Kranj (Slovenia), a destination with alpine air and city flair, where you stand with one foot in the city and the other one in nature, has been awarded the 2023 European Destination of Excellence, as a public acknowledgment to the city’s efforts towards sustainable tourism and green transition.
Kranj is setting the standard in a form of tourism that is good for the environment and benefits the local community, implementing tourism measures that are reducing carbon footprints, while at the same time, empowering communities to get the most out of their local tourism industry.
The recently published report “Best Practices from the 2023 European Destinations of Excellence“
The report aims at raising awareness about sustainable initiatives, tools, measures and projects, sharing the best practices implemented by destinations and strengthening peer-to-peer learning and sustainable development of tourism. You can find the full report here. Some of the leading sustainable tourism practices in Kranj include:
The Green Team: a team dedicated to lowering the carbon footprint across Kranj. The team is made up of 21 members from different local authority institutions. It collects data, sets targets and organises workshops with local businesses and tourism industry representatives, to make sure those targets are met.
The SOS Info Centre Proteus: the Tunnels under the old town of Kranj are the most visited Kranj’s touristic sight. Since December 2022 they are also home of an info centre dedicated to conservation of proteus, a global symbol of cave biodiversity. The Tular Cave Lab has been studying and protecting these amphibians for decades. In partnership with town authorities, the lab is taking this a step further, by informing visitors and locals about the endangered cave amphibian, as well as the importance of the groundwater in which it lives – Slovenia’s vital resource of drinking water.
The Kranj Long Table, is a green culinary event whereby seven prestigious Kranj chefs prepared and served a menu with 100% local ingredients, for 100 seating visitors in the garden of the Khislstein castle. Part of the profits went towards meals for Kranj Social Work Centre’s clients and a donation of €2000 was given to a family in need. The Kranj Long Table was the first event where the carbon footprint was measured and is now an example for more climate-friendly tourism events in Slovenia.
| Kranj also boasts a large e-bike network to promote sustainable mobility and implementing different measures, becoming then best e-mobility municipality in Slovenia in 2021. Indeed, Kranj has the country’s largest electrified bike rental system, KRsKOLESOM, with 29 stations, for 125 bicycles and 75 e-bikes. This system is part of a larger network named Gorenjska.bike. The latter connects seven municipalities in the region, allowing users to rent and return a bike in different locations. In total, more than 50 stations with 40 % of electrically assisted bikes are available.
The European Destinations of Excellence is an EU initiative, implemented by the European Commission. Its aim is to recognise and reward smaller destinations that have put in place successful strategies to boost sustainable tourism through green transition practices. The competition is founded upon the principle of promoting the development of sustainable tourism in destinations which brings value to the economy, the planet and people. |
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