City of Koper

Slovenia’s port city of Koper is a bustling place in the summer months, and until recently, winter has been a quieter period. In 2018, the city wanted to make Koper a visitor destination outside of their traditional busy period and they chose to invest in festive lighting in squares and streets across the city to do so.

The lighting combined traditional Christmas motifs, lighting installations designed to fill spaces with atmosphere, and  3D light sculptures and festive displays that emphasized Koper’s proud history and local culture, and their connection with the sea.

The results exceeded all expectations.

The grand opening of the festive displays attracted over 30,000 people and over the course of the month, an estimated 350,000 people visited the city to see the lights and enjoy the Christmas atmosphere. Thanks to the many photo points and stand-out lighting features, the city became a hit on social media, too, thanks to the sharing of selfies, which in turn helped to drive traditional media engagement. It can be said with some certainty that the investment gave the winter economy a boost and firmly placed Koper on the map as a visitor destination over the holiday season for years to come.