Tourism in the Programme Statement of the Government of the Slovak Republic 2023 – 2027

The main priorities of the Government of the Slovak Republic in the field of tourism are to support the growth of its share in the national economy as well as to set up sustainable and especially systemic financing of the infrastructure of this sector.

Short-term priority

The Government of the Slovak Republic will create the Ministry of Tourism and Sport of the Slovak Republic with the aim of strengthening and streamlining the use of public resources and potential in tourism. By creating a separate ministry, the Government of the Slovak Republic will ensure a higher level of comprehensive support for tourism and sports. Through the instruments of state policy, it will create conditions for the growth of sports culture of the entire population of Slovakia, purposeful support and continuous development of young talents. In the field of tourism, it will significantly support the recognition of the Slovakia brand as a safe tourist destination. On foreign markets, it will create space for continuous growth in revenues of this important sector of the domestic economy.

The Government of the Slovak Republic will adopt the Sustainable Tourism Development Strategy 2035, which will determine specific strategic goals, tools and tasks in tourism in accordance with the objectives of the European Union's conceptual documents to transform tourism into green and digital with an emphasis on social inclusion.

The Government of the Slovak Republic will establish the Tourism Support Fund, which will represent, similarly to the Sports Support Fund, a transparent instrument for co-financing the sector with an emphasis on supporting sustainability and improving the infrastructure of the Czech Republic.

Medium-term priority

It will ensure the improvement of the quality of service provision in the tourism sector through appropriate legislative instruments. The Government of the Slovak Republic will advocate the creation of a modern system of categorization of accommodation facilities, which will create opportunities to control the quality of services provided and its improvement, their standardization and measurability. This will create a space with regard to the comfort and safety of the client.

One of the priorities of the Government of the Slovak Republic is the strengthening of all forms of rural and nature tourism, which are among the key forms of tourism transformation in Slovakia. In addition to the support and development of sport and the health of society, their fundamental contribution lies in the development of regions with low population density and the prevention of excessive tourism in cities or tourist-exposed destinations. By making every effort to support this form of tourism, the Government of the Slovak Republic will create opportunities to maintain existing as well as create new jobs, thus increasing the competitiveness of our country and its individual regions. At the same time, it will strengthen active interdepartmental cooperation with the assumption of using the cultural potential of the country and protecting the environment.

The government considers the influx of foreign tourists to be an important part of the development of tourism. To this end, it will support international air connections with major Slovak airports. The government will support the development of the current international airports in Slovakia.

Long-term priority

The Government of the Slovak Republic will introduce a digital tool eVisitor, which will provide digitized records of all providers of accommodation services and accommodated guests, including the sharing economy, which will create a digital platform of available information on these providers and accommodated guests using accommodation services in real time. By doing so, the Government of the Slovak Republic will ensure more efficient collection of direct and indirect taxes at the level of local government and the state, at the same time it will create conditions for quality control of the services provided and the creation of a comprehensive source of data necessary for planning, management and creation of other tools for the development of tourism.

Through the established Tourism Support Fund (see short-term priority) and with the help of public-private partnerships, the Government of the Slovak Republic will promote the creation of special conditions aimed at building tourist and leisure attractions with the aim of increasing the attractiveness of locations in selected regions of Slovakia undergoing economic transformation, which have development potential.