Ljubljana Tourism Receives The Travel Marketing Award

This marks the third award this year that Ljubljana Tourism has received in the realm of digital communications, particularly in connection with the "Volleyball on the Ljubljanica" project. Following two domestic recognitions, the SPORTO award and the gold prize at the DIGGIT competition, the remarkable success of the project on social media platforms has now been acknowledged internationally.

Ljubljana Tourism launched their @visitljubljana profile on the TikTok platform in collaboration with Dunking Devils Studios in July 2022. The objective was to enhance the visibility of Ljubljana as a creative and innovative destination among younger audiences, especially Generation Z. The user count quickly soared, but the profile truly achieved breakthrough success with the posting of the "Volleyball on the Ljubljanica" event video.

In less than a day, the video of the sports spectacle on the floating volleyball court in the Ljubljanica River was viewed by over seven million people, and within a week, it reached over 38 million views. By the end of 2022, the post had garnered more than 53 million views, 6.5 million likes, over 38,000 comments, and 157,000 shares. The official profile of the International Olympic Committee and numerous globally renowned sports television stations and websites, such as ESPN, TSN, and Bleacher Report, shared the video. An even greater reach was achieved with an additional video of the spectacle, which garnered over 73 million views, 3.2 million likes, and more than 8,000 comments, making it the most viewed video by Ljubljana Tourism on the TikTok platform to date.

The video brought exceptional promotion not only to Ljubljana and Slovenia but also to the sport itself. Its estimated media value surpassed €1,000,000. These remarkable figures demonstrate that effective use of social media can strengthen brand reputation and international recognition, as acknowledged by the evaluators of The Travel Marketing Awards*.

"Volleyball on the Ljubljanica" was a side event of the Men's Volleyball World Championship hosted by Slovenia in August last year. Its conceptual design was carried out by the agency Extrem, which consistently brings innovative sports projects to Ljubljana, both on a national and global scale.

*The Travel Marketing Awards

The Travel Marketing Awards, established in 2009, are presented by the Chartered Institute of Marketing's Travel Group. They recognize the most original, creative, innovative, and successful campaigns in travel and tourism from the previous year. Brands, teams, and individuals contribute their efforts in advertising, marketing, digital, and public relations. Each submission is evaluated by a panel of experts, and only the best works make it to the final shortlist for the awards. This year, 71 tourism and travel organizations, along with 36 agencies, competed for awards in 34 categories.