Description:

TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel website, can exclusively reveal that 2012 European Capital of Culture, Maribor in Slovenia, has substantially piqued traveller interest. In its inaugural two weeks with the title, the city saw a 547% increase in traveller searches on TripAdvisor. By comparison, the other European Capital of Culture for 2012, Guimaraes in Portugal, saw a more modest increase of 42% in the same period. Maribor looks set to be the region’s next big destination.

Maribor is the second most important centre and the second largest city of Slovenia. It has about 114.000 inhabitants who live embraced in its wine growing hills and the Mariborsko Pohorje mountain. Located near Slovenian border with Austria, beside the Drava River.

Maribor has grown into one of the country’s most important tourist destinations. Its key features are: the rich wine culture (the oldest vine in the world, numerous wine roads and wine cellars), the old town`s cultural offer (theatre, traditional events, galleries and museums), and the recreational activities (hiking, cycling and skiing).