Title – Name
ApiRoutes
Scope / Sector / Industry
Development of bee tourism
Country / Region
Slovenia
Why is it good practice?
The ApiRoutes initiative is considered a good practice in the development of apitourism, as it has formed the basis for the organized promotion of Slovenian beekeeping, which is an integral part of the country’s national identity. Through the certification of apitourism providers, coordinated cooperation between local bodies and the central government, as well as organized promotion actions of this particular form of alternative tourism, it has contributed to Slovenia’s international recognition as a pioneer country in apitourism and a model for other countries wishing to develop corresponding forms of alternative tourism.
How is it applied?
The word apitourism (from the Latin word apis – bee) denotes a destination where tourists have the opportunity to discover and learn everything about bees, honey and its production. It is one of the special forms of tourism and is often classified as a subtype of agrotourism or even health tourism, as beekeeping is becoming an increasingly sought-after solution for maintaining health.
In Slovenia, beekeeping has a long tradition and is one of its most important productive sectors. In fact, the country, with a population of just over 2 million, has close to 11,000 registered beekeepers in the Slovenian Beekeeping Association. Due to this dynamic, the Association in collaboration with the travel agency Aritours began a collaboration, leading to the creation of the brand “ApiRoutes” (authentic-routes.com). ApiRoutes is an initiative that promotes and offers services to those who wish to experience the local tradition surrounding honey. Specifically, it began to offer visitors bee tourism experiences, the main ones being summarized below:
- Api Experiences Beyond Beyond Beekeeping: include observing a beekeeper at work, guided tours of apiaries, tasting and/or making bee products, many of which have medicinal applications (e.g. making honey cream), participating in honey cooking classes, baking bread with honey, making dishes with honey dough or beeswax candles, and decorating the front panel of the hive. The panels that close the hive began to be painted in the 18th century and are now very characteristic of the Slovenian countryside. Today, approximately 50,000 different and imaginative patterns adorn the hives of various beekeepers. Finally, other experiences offered and based on honey are the tasting of sparkling mead and a visit to a brewery that brews beer with honey.
- Api Well-Being Programs: includes experiences such as honey massage for body detoxification, application of a honey face mask or bee venom face cream for anti-aging effects, use of propolis for oral hygiene, and alginate patches soaked in honey with therapeutic properties.
- Apitherapy: involves resting on beds placed in apiaries, thus transforming them into beekeeping chambers. These spaces are suitable for inhalations, relieving allergies to pollen and asthma. In general, beekeepers are known for their health and longevity, which is associated with the free circulation of aromatic air from the hives, creating a microclimate that has a beneficial effect on the human respiratory system and well-being in general. Today, beekeeping is a widely established science, which serves as a complement to traditional medicine.
- Guided tours aimed at beekeepers: includes the offer of personalized tourist packages in order to meet the needs of experienced beekeepers and apiherapists seeking specialized knowledge in their field.
The above activities also include visits to beekeeping museums and are recommended to be combined with a visit to other points of interest in the country, such as special cultural and natural sites.
It is worth mentioning that, since 2013, ApiRoutes has undertaken to initiate, encourage, connect, coordinate and manage beekeeping activities and programs as coordinator of the “Apimondia & Apitourism” working group (Apimondia: the International Beekeepers’ Federation), at a global level. In this context, the official ApiRoutes website now features bee tourism experiences from all over the world with the aim of its wider dissemination.
The above activity led the country’s government in 2016, following a proposal from the Association, to integrate beekeeping into its tourism strategy, while at the same time, the Apitourism Providers Unit was established at that time, consisting of officially certified bee tourism providers. Slovenia is the only country to have such certification, while today there are over 45,000 certified providers in the country.
Furthermore, in Slovenia, the basis for the successful development of apitourism is considered to be the cooperation between beekeeping farms, tourism product providers, tourist associations, local communities and the state, as well as their cooperation in the planning, positioning and promotion of their offer. In this context, in the same year (2016), the Slovenian Beekeeping Association in cooperation with the Slovenian Association of Professional Guides is conducting the first training program for beekeepers/tour guides. The acquired knowledge leads to specialization of tourist guides and to a connection between visitors and apitourism providers, which further improves the quality and, consequently, leads to a more pleasant experience for the visitor.
At the same time, the country’s Tourist Organization and the Beekeeping Association are jointly planning a series of initiatives for a sustainable approach to bee tourism and providing support to tourist agencies in designing tourist packages and proposals, such as wellness holidays with local honey tastings. As part of their actions, they are publishing a corresponding thematic tourist guide (in fact, it is reported that it is the only bee tourism guide in the world).
The quality of the provided tourist services is considered very important in Slovenia. In this context, it was considered appropriate to upgrade the existing quality of services offered by certified providers, resulting in the Anton Janša Beekeeping School to carry out the first educational programs in early 2024, from which the “1-3 Bees” and “Top Bee” certificates of excellence are obtained.
This certification concerns bee tourism providers from farms and shops to museums and other businesses offering honey products and services. One, two or three bees indicate that the providers meet basic requirements such as the quality of the provider’s facilities and surroundings, the application of organic or biodynamic beekeeping, the ability to present activities and products in an attractive way, innovative packaging, the ability to create a bee tourism experience, the offer of creative workshops (e.g. baking gingerbread, candle making, beehive painting, cooking workshops) and professional lectures, the provision of protective clothing for visitors, first aid, the use of multimedia, etc.
On the other hand, to obtain the “Top Bee” mark, in addition to the above, the provider is obliged
to complete training to acquire additional knowledge, as well as to present a unique product-service and its application in the real offer. This certification also takes into account conditions such as accessibility for people with disabilities and knowledge of foreign languages.
Today, the training program of the above school is also carried out abroad, providing examples of good practice to all those who want to improve the quality of their beekeeping, regardless of their geographical location outside the territory of Slovenia.
In addition to the above, other important bee tourism initiatives in Slovenia that are also worth mentioning are the “Carniolan Bee House” and the “Bee Trail”. Specifically, the “Carniolan Bee House”, in the medieval center of the town of Višnja Gora, is a museum, which was created by the Rothschütz family, who introduced the local Carniolan bee to the world more than 150 years ago. The Carniolan Bee House, in addition to its activities, hosts the Tourist Information Center, where visitors can learn everything about the museum and the surrounding area. On the other hand, the “Bee Path” in Ljubljana is a 14-point route in the Slovenian capital with a total length of 7.7 km, on which hikers can, under the guidance of special guides, see, among other attractions, 7 apiaries or hives.
Finally, in the context of bee protection, local actions are carried out that aim to raise awareness among residents and visitors to the country. A typical example is a prevention action that took place in the village of Rateče in the Municipality of Kranjska Gora. Specifically, in 2021, a strong cold front hit the wider area with frost and destroyed most of the blossoms of its fruit trees. Thus, the main source of food for bees would be only the flowers of the meadows in public spaces and the lawns around the houses. In this context, the Chamber of Agriculture and Forestry appealed not to mow the above green spaces during that period. Thus, the Municipality of Kranjska Gora, responding to this appeal, placed stylish signs in the shape of bees, which informed the residents and visitors of the destination that the meadows were not mowed because “bees have a picnic”!
At the state level and in the context of the effort to highlight the country’s beekeeping tradition, as well as to raise awareness on the issue of bee protection, at the proposal of the Slovenian Beekeeping Association, the UN General Assembly declared May 20, 2017 as World Bee Day. This date was chosen because on the same day in 1734, Anton Janša, a Slovenian beekeeper, pioneer of modern beekeeping and one of the greatest bee experts of the 18th century, was born. With the aforementioned declaration, Slovenia has become particularly recognizable worldwide as a beekeeping destination and also strengthens the recognition of Slovenia in general as a sustainable and green destination, which is the dominant narrative of the country’s tourism promotion (brand “Slovenia Green”).
Where is it applied?
The ApiRoutes initiative is aimed at nature lovers, beekeepers, wellness and health professionals and travelers, and those seeking an alternative, experiential and green travel experience.
When did it applied?
The ApiRoutes initiative began to be implemented gradually since 2013.
Results
Some of the awards Slovenia has received for the development of its bee tourism are as follows:
- In 2022, Slovenian beekeeping (“Beekeeping in Slovenia, a way of life”) was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.
- Slovenia is the first country to certify bee tourism and bee therapy providers.
- Ljubljana has been named the most bee-friendly municipality in Slovenia by the Beekeepers’ Association several times, and in 2017 it received the URBACT European Good Practice Award.
Other information
The official website of the Apiroutes initiative is: https://www.authentic-routes.com/