Slovak Tourist Board, Banská Bystrica

The Slovak Tourist Board is a state contributory organisation which specialises in the marketing and state promotion of the tourism industry of the Slovak Republic. It carries out the national marketing of the tourist industry, provides information on tourism in Slovakia, promotes Slovakia as a tourist destination, contributes to a positive image of Slovakia abroad and supports the sale of TI products of the Slovak Republic. The Slovak Tourist Board is authorised to carry out official representation abroad and establish detached offices at home and abroad.

At the same time it serves as the Mediation Organ under the jurisdiction of the Managing Organ for the Industry and Services Sector Operation Program and for activities related to the implementation of European Union structural funds in the tourist industry.

In the field of tourism development it provides for: (i) all forms of State Promotion of the tourist industry of Slovakia; (ii) marketing surveys of the TI market according to its fundamental components - development of needs and requirements of demand, supply and competition analysis, and co-ordination in establishing the marketing strategy of the TI of the Slovak Republic; (iii) marketing and promotion geared to broadening and enhancing the level of presentation of tourist possibilities of Slovakia and support for sales of Slovak TI products; (iv) compilation, production and distribution of printed, audiovisual and multimedia promotion materials, including the promotional magazine Panoráma Slovenska (Slovak Panorama), creating a positive image of Slovakia as a tourist destination; (v) co-ordination of national activities at home and abroad in the interest of interconnecting the supply of Slovak TI products and the demand from abroad, and the participation of the Slovak Republic in international TI exhibitions and fairs; (vi) the creation of a TI information system; (vii) the establishment of a database of domestic and foreign tourism subjects; (viii) the provision of actual information for the mass media, including organisation of press conferences at home and abroad and the organisation of study/sightseeing trips in Slovakia for foreign journalists; (ix) co-operation with entrepreneurial and non-entrepreneurial subjects in the TI sector, organs of the local state administration and local government, involved ministries and central organs, interest associations, professional schools and research and consulting organisations at home and abroad; (x) processing and publishing foreign surveys, studies and actual information from the field of tourism, (xi) undertaking advisory and consulting activities for subjects in the tourism industry, organs of local state administration and territorial local governments; (xii) the building and efficient running of activities of its own official representations abroad, (xiii) international co-operation within the framework of membership in international tourism organisations; and (xiv) the implementation of EU structural funds for the public sector and entrepreneurial sphere in the tourist industry.

Activities include marketing and promotion, editorial activities, advisory and consulting activities and implementation of EU structural funds within the tourist industry.