Slovenians celebrate first ever gastronomic festival

CAIRO – 16 November 2017: The food season has officially begun, with November seeing Moulid El-Nabi this side of the Atlantic and Thanksgiving coming in the US in a few weeks. Over in Europe Slovenia has just launched its first-ever gastronomy festival, Novemmmber Gourmmmet.

Organized by the Slovenian Tourist Board, food fest runs until the end of November and celebrates the country’s rich food scene in the capital Ljubljana.

“Slovenia is one of Europe’s hottest gastronomic hotbeds, offering the Tastes of Ljubljana, the Open Kitchen food market and numerous top quality restaurants, cafés and bars,” according to the Slovenian Tourist Board, announcing that this year “Ljubljana hotels and organizers of culinary tours and grape tastings have joined their powers … and will present grape routes, food and grape fairs and special culinary tours.”


Photo courtesy of Aviarep

The initiative aims not only to draw foodies, who will get to take part in a range of culinary activities and attend classes, but also visitors to the country “for a closer look and taste of Ljubljana, one of the culinary capitals of Europe,” organizers say.

“More and more tourists are visiting Slovenia and Ljubljana due to its culinary range, encompassing everything from traditional dishes to the most creative contemporary fusion. Memorable experiences, such as cooking classes with top Slovenian chefs, are gaining in popularity, while the food and grape tours of Ljubljana Tourism are becoming bestsellers,” Slovenian Tourist Board said in a statement.


While tourism from Egypt has yet to pick up, it’s becoming a trendy destination with GCC travelers. “A total of 76,163 visitors from the GCC visited the Slovenia in 2016, resulting in a 10 percent increase compared to 2015 figures,” according to a recent statement by the Slovenian Tourist Board. “Amongst those, the number from Saudi Arabia was the highest at 43,483 travelers, which was an increase of 11.5 percent compared to the year before. Visitors from the United Arab Emirates were the next highest, followed by visitors from Kuwait.”