Nearly 50 students from European universities are coming to Brežice for the Summer School of Good Stories: Literary, Film and Wine Tourism

From 23 to 29 August 2026, the Faculty of Tourism, University of Maribor, in cooperation with local partners – the Municipality of Brežice, the Brežice European Film Festival, ZPTM Brežice, the Posavje Museum Brežice and the Brežice Library – will hold the international Summer School of Good Stories: Literary, Film and Wine Tourism in Brežice. Nearly 50 students from more than ten European universities will take part, exploring the role of stories in literary, film and wine tourism through lectures, workshops, fieldwork and meetings with local stakeholders.

The summer school, organised by the Faculty in cooperation with the Department of Tourism and Communication Studies at the University of Zadar and partners from the local community, is designed as an Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Programme (BIP). The first online meeting with participants will take place on Thursday, 20 August, while the main part of the programme will run in Brežice from Sunday, 23 August, to Saturday, 29 August. The programme will conclude with an online evaluation session on 31 August.

Opening of the summer school in the Faculty of Tourism’s new premises

The official opening of the summer school will take place on Sunday, 23 August 2026, at 4 p.m. in the new premises of the Faculty of Tourism, University of Maribor, at Trg izgnancev 1 in Brežice.

At the start of the programme, participants will be welcomed by representatives of the University of Maribor and its Faculty of Tourism, as well as by Ivan Molan, Mayor of the Municipality of Brežice; Mojca Florjanič, Deputy Mayor of the Municipality of Brežice and co-founder of the Brežice European Film Festival; and Dr Aleš Pavlin, the festival’s founder and programme director.

The opening will be followed by a lecture by the head of the summer school, Prof. Dr. Jasna Potočnik Topler, entitled Tourism as Narrative: The Power of Story in Interpreting Place, or When Literature, Film and Wine Meet. That same evening, participants will also visit the Brežice Youth Centre, where they will be welcomed and introduced to Brežice as a youth-friendly and creative municipality with a rich cultural and tourism offer.

Brežice as an international tourism classroom

The central theme of the summer school is storytelling as an important tool in contemporary tourism. The programme combines academic insights with practical workshops, creative work and experiences in the local environment. Students will explore how stories about places, literature, film, cultural heritage and wine can form the basis of engaging and authentic tourism experiences.

The first thematic section will focus on literary tourism and stories of place. Participants will learn about literary trails, the role of place as a character in a story and different approaches to interpreting a place. In cooperation with the Brežice Library, they will also take a literary walk through the town and meet tourist guides from Slovenia and abroad.

The film section of the programme will examine the role of film in shaping the image and visibility of tourism destinations. Students will explore how film narratives influence perceptions of places and how a film location can be developed into a tourism product. They will also consider the use of virtual reality and modern technologies in tourist guiding, and attend film screenings and discussions with filmmakers.

Wine tourism will also form an important part of the summer school. Lectures, a sensory workshop and a visit to a local winery will allow participants to discover how wine heritage, wine tasting and winemakers’ stories can be incorporated into comprehensive tourism experiences.

The programme also includes travel writing and creative writing workshops, during which students will work in international groups to develop their own ideas for literary, film and wine tourism itineraries. They will present the resulting projects on Friday, 28 August, under the shared title Good Stories as a Tourism Product.

Collaboration with the Brežice European Film Festival

This year, the summer school is closely linked to the Brežice European Film Festival, which will take place in the town from 26 to 29 August 2026. Students will attend film screenings, take part in discussions with filmmakers, and analyse how film tells stories about places and influences visitors’ interest in destinations.

The connection between the summer school and the festival will bring students, researchers, tourism professionals, filmmakers and the local community into direct contact. Brežice will therefore be more than merely the host of the summer school: it will become its central learning environment, a town where stories, heritage, film, wine and contemporary tourism meet.

The programme will bring together lecturers and experts from Slovenia and abroad, including representatives of the University of Maribor, the University of Zadar, the University of Montenegro, the University of Algarve, CETT Barcelona School of Tourism, Hospitality and Gastronomy, and other partner institutions. The programme also involves the Posavje Museum Brežice, the Brežice Library, the Municipality of Brežice, the Brežice European Film Festival, the ARGOS Association of Regional Tourist Guides of Slovenia, tourist guides from Slovenia and abroad, and local providers.

The international summer school will enable participants to acquire new knowledge, collaborate across cultures and create concrete tourism products. At the same time, it will enhance the international visibility of Brežice as a university town – a town of stories, culture and creative tourism experiences.

Summer school programe is available HERE.