Slovenia sees tourism boom, thanks in part to Melania Trump

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia — The tiny European nation of Slovenia is undergoing a tourism boom partly because it’s the native country of U.S. first lady Melania Trump.

The Slovenian Statistics Office said Monday that some 1,939,000 tourists visited the Alpine country of 2 million in the first half of this year, a 15 per cent increase from the same period last year. Analyzing the impact of the Slovenian-born first lady on the tourism growth, the statistics office said the number of U.S. visitors has risen 15 per cent since Donald Trump took office in January.

Slovenian tourist agencies have been organizing “on the footsteps of Melania Trump” tours showing the places where she lived, studied and worked before she left in her 20s to pursue an international modeling career.