SUMMER SCHOOLS

Tasting Trails was an international Blended Intensive Programme in cultural, culinary, and wine tourism experience design, coordinated by the Faculty of Tourism at University of Maribor. The BIP took place from 17 to 21 March 2025. The programme combined a four-week virtual phase with a five-day intensive field experience in Slovenia.

During the virtual phase, students explored experience design, storytelling, sustainability, and culinary tourism through online lectures, workshops, and collaborative group work. International teams developed initial tourism concepts and prepared for practical field application.

The physical mobility took place in the Posavje region of Slovenia, with activities centred in Brežice and surrounding destinations. Participants engaged in site visits, guided heritage interpretation, meetings with local food and wine producers, and hands-on workshops in storytelling and tour guiding. Working in multinational teams, they designed innovative cultural tourism experiences rooted in local heritage and sustainability principles.

The programme successfully integrated theory and practice, strengthened intercultural cooperation, and enabled students to develop concrete tourism concepts through experiential learning. Taste Trails demonstrated the value of blended mobility for modern tourism education and cross-cultural collaboration.