Ljubljana successfully launched promotional support for EuroBasket 2013 at the World Travel Market London fair.

The public institution Ljubljana Tourism, which partnered with the Slovenian Tourist Board for its participation at London's World Travel Market (WTM), the world's most important travel industry event, has, in collaboration with EuroBasket ambassadors, successfully presented Ljubljana as the host of the EuroBasket 2013 European basketball championship and, in collaboration with the Egozero project team, as the entry point for those interested in the unique choice of sustainable tourism experiences offered by Slovenia, including electric car travel. The mascot of Ljubljana, the Ljubljana Dragon, has been named 'Mascot of the Day'.

Ljubljana Tourism, the key partner of the Slovenian Tourist Board at this year's WTM event in London, which is witnessing the largest media attendance of any event in the UK, took on the responsibility for providing a cohesive thread through the activities taking place at the Slovenian WTM stand as part of the presentation of Slovenia and its tourism product. The presentation of Slovenia focuses on the EuroBasket 2013 championship, represented by a large photo wallpaper depicting basketball activity on Ljubljana's Triple Bridge and the EuroBasket ambassador Rašo Nesterović, the project Egozero, aimed at providing sustainable excursions from Ljubljana to other parts of Slovenia, and the friendly green dragon used as the mascot of Ljubljana.

On the fist day of the event, the Slovenian stand hosted a meeting of representatives of the Slovenian tourism industry and the British and international media. The first large international promotion of EuroBasket 2013 was attended by more than 40 journalists from around the world. The atmosphere at the stand was livened up by the EuroBasket 2013 ambassador Rašo Nesterović, who autographed tiny basketballs and posed for photographs with anyone interested. Along with representatives of Ljubljana and Slovenia, Nesterović was featured on the BBC World News Radio.

The second day of the event saw the launch of the Egozero reservation portal and the first Egozero route for responsible tourism travel using the electric car, a new means of travel connecting Ljubljana to sustainable tourism destinations across Central Slovenia. The Egozero project, recognized by the organizers of WTM 2012, was ranked among the world's top 13 most interesting tourism projects and given an opportunity for a presentation at the WTM Speakers' Corner.

For the duration of the WTM 2012 event, the Egozero project was awarded the 'WRTD WTM Official Supporter' title and logo, conferred by the World Travel Market and the World Tourism Organization. The project also attracted attention from the media in the UK and worldwide, such as The Guardian, the BBC, and National Geographic. For more information about the project, visit its official website.

The Slovenian WTM stand also hosted a series of 'green cities meetings' as a platform for the exchange of experience and good practice in the field of sustainable tourism. The meetings were held between representatives of Ljubljana and other cities promoting their responsible tourism practices at WTM 2012, including Freiburg, Vienna, Zurich, Brussels, Dublin and Lucerne. Ljubljana also established contacts with numerous other cities committed to the development of a sustainable tourism product.

The mascot of Ljubljana, the friendly Ljubljana Dragon, which has been used in the promotion of Ljubljana at the WTM events for the fourth year running, is arousing increasing interest among both Ljubljana's business partners and the organizers of the WTM event. The latter named it 'Mascot of the Day' in the WTM daily paper on 7 November 2012.

Tourism Ljubljana