STO Unique submission and evaluation platform

The Slovenian Tourist Board (STO) is the national organisation that plans and implements the marketing of Slovenia's comprehensive tourism offer and takes care of tourism development.

Systematic planning, development and promotion activities, sustainable and digital transformation, and a modern approach to positioning Slovenia on the global tourism map are the efforts that STO has made, especially in recent years, to increase the visibility and reputation of the country as a safe, authentic, boutique destination committed to sustainability, responsible towards the natural environment, guests, tourism employees, local population and economic operators.

The Slovenian Tourist Board wanted to regulate and simplify the application process for providers of 5-Star Experiences - Unique. Providers that obtain this title have more advantages in promoting their destinations and using the Unique destinations title.

The original application process was complicated, as it was carried out via e-mail, and the transparency of the submission, evaluation and completion of applications was therefore not optimal. They needed an efficient online platform that would allow not only transparent submission of applications but also transparent evaluation.

We developed an online platform called "Unique" that has revamped and simplified the application and evaluation process. The platform is tailored to the needs of providers, evaluators and administrators.

Providers of 5-star experiences submit applications to become Unique destinations. After registration, the provider obtains a user account on the platform. Within this environment, they prepare, edit and submit their applications. The evaluators have special access for the evaluation, while the STO administrators have a complete overview of what is happening.

The platform provides alerts on submission deadlines, deficient applications and non-evaluated applications, and allows for the completion of applications by bidders. The STO can use an embedded notification system to invite bidders and evaluators to different activities on the project. This ensures comprehensive traceability and transparency of all activities.

The new online platform has simplified and speeded up the submission and evaluation process for the Unique programme. Efficiency and transparency have been increased, leading to greater participation of bidders and evaluators. It also increased the speed of response to application completions and reduced the need for manual operations. The result is a successful programme that has exceeded expectations and has contributed to a higher visibility of destinations and a positive image of Slovenian tourism.