LJUBLJANA DRAGON AT THE DONČIĆ TEAM MATCH IN DALLAS

On Saturday, March 5th, Luka Dončić's club hosted the basketball players of the Sacramento Kings from California. The match which took place under the slogan I FEEL SLOVENIA night will also be remembered by fans by the green-coloured hall of the American Airlines Center.

During the match, Ljubljana Tourism advertised with the Visit Ljubljana brand on LED screens next to the court and on the construction of the basketball hoop. The match was enriched by the world-famous Slovenian acrobats Dunking Devils, and they were joined on the floor by the Ljubljana mascot: Zmajček Ljubo (the dragon). Ljubljana, the home city of Luka Dončić, was exposed during the halftime of the match and in the promotional area in front of the hall. The viewers of the match were able to enjoy attractive promotional materials and I FEEL SLOVENIA fan props. American basketball fans were able to watch the game via television screens in Dallas and Sacramento.

The promotional activities during the match will be followed on April 8 by the "Texas Feels Slovenia" business conference, which was originally scheduled for March 2020 and was postponed due to the pandemic. Texas, the largest state in the United States and the 9th largest state-owned economy in the world in terms of gross domestic product (source: Forbes USA), will offer our business representatives the opportunity to meet with the American companies. A workshop on Slovenian tourism will also be held on this day.

The partnership with the Dallas Mavericks Club, which was joined by Ljubljana Tourism in 2020 together with several organizations, including the Slovenian Tourist Board and the Spirit Slovenija agency, ensured the promotion and exposure of Slovenia and its capital in domestic NBA matches in the seasons 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 as well as on the basketball club’s digital channels. The cooperation is primarily intended to strengthen the visibility of the destination and to present national and local tourism and economic sector.

In recent years, Ljubljana Tourism has been investing more and more in activities on the American market, which is also reflected in statistics. In the record year 2019, guests from the USA generated 135,201 overnight stays in Ljubljana (ie 6.35% of all overnight stays) and took the 3rd place on the scale of foreign guests (source: SORS). Ljubljana was recently voted the best European destination of the year (European Best Destination 2022) thanks to its popularity among American travelers. As many as 92% of all votes were received from foreign countries, which proves the exceptional international attractiveness of the Slovenian capital. With this, Ljubljana set a record, as no country has won with such a large share of votes outside its borders since 2009.