The UN has officially declared 20 May 2018 the first international World Bee Day to honour the birthday of Slovenian beekeeping pioneer Anton Janša and help save the species.

Originally initiated by Slovenian Beekeeping Association and supported by the Slovenian Government, World Bee Day aims to help save the declining bee population and promote Slovenia’s tradition of beekeeping.

It will mark the birthday of Anton Janša, one of the founders of modern beekeeping.

The initiative also aims to highlight the importance of bees, a species that contributes almost 80% of all crop pollination. The Save the Bees campaign aims to help raise awareness and in turn ensure measures are taken to help conserve and protect the world’s bee population.

Slovenia is a leading beekeeping tourism destination with over 10,000 beekeepers, 12,500 apiaries and nearly 17,000 hive colonies, along with being one of the first countries to certify api-tourism providers.

The Slovenian Tourist Board already has a number of initiatives in place that adopt a sustainable approach to tourism. The tourist board and Slovenian Beekeepers Association have worked alongside tour providers to develop holidays and packages that combine the country’s tradition with eco-friendly values, including Api wellness retreats and honey tasting tours.

Mladen Ljubisic, head of Slovenian Tourist Board for UK & Ireland said: “As a tourist board that places responsible tourism at the very heart of our agenda, this is another clear indicator of our commitment to sustainable tourism and development of our api tourism product offering”.