"Ljubljana is the new Prague, darling" purred a headline in the British Independent on Sunday last October. Appearing in many of the tourist guides, this comparison has already become a little hackneyed. So Is Ljubljana really like Prague? Is it too a little gem in the heart of the old world? Has it been discovered and is it turning into a hip hotspot, one of Europe’s sexy cities, a must to all true travellers and terrible tourists alike?

Ljublana certainly bears comparison to Prague in the beauty stakes, there is a photo opp at virtually every corner, although (at the risk of sounding pedantic) in architectural style it is more like Salzburg owing more to the Baroque than the Medieval tradition, Ljubljana’s medieval town having been largely flattened in the earthquake of 1511. Also with its fairytale hilltop castle standing guard over the old town nestled beside the languid Ljubljanica River below, Ljubljana is more like a miniature Salzburg than a miniature Prague.

The Lonely Planet guide says Slovenia is "Europe in miniature" meaning it has everything that Europe has to offer but on a smaller scale. Similarly Ljubljana with its population of around a third of a million can be said to offer what its larger counterpart Prague (pop. c.1 million) does, but in smaller quantities. Prague, like Ljubljana, is an intellectual, cultural and historic centre with a strong tradition in classical music and a vibrant café society. Both capitals proudly promote their national arts, crafts and crystal. Prague though has more performance spaces, more churches, a bigger old town, a bigger castle, etc, etc. Being a more cosmopolitan city, Prague also offers a greater variety of international cuisine and it is famous for its large selection of beers.

Big is not always better, however, and using qualitative rather than quantitative criteria Ljubljana can be said to shine even brighter than Prague in certain respects. Those who know both cities tend to agree that style and a certain affluence are more a trademark of Ljubljana. This perhaps proves my theory that the Slovenes have the chic of the Italians and the acumen of the Austrians. Slovenia actually has almost as many cars per capita as the EU average and an even greater percentage of mobile phones. A quick foray into Ljubljana’s markets, wine shops and restaurants leaves one in no doubt that the city has more to offer in terms of indigenous food and wine. The Slovene capital also has a much more interesting hinterland than Prague does too. The city is surrounded by manicured countryside, lakes and mountains and thermal spas and the coast are within easy reach of the city. The lack of crime is another area where Ljubljana surpasses Prague, there is no apparent red light activity in the city whereas it is has proved a problem in the Czech capital and tourists have become an easy target for thieves. With only around 1000 people in jail in Slovenia, crime is obviously not such a big issue.

For all that, Ljubljana has stubbornly resisted being ‘discovered’. Until recently, it certainly was one of the world’s best-kept secrets. When my husband was posted here in 1999, I am ashamed to say that we had to find Slovenia on the map. But we were not alone. Most of our friends persisted in thinking that we were going to Slovakia, Lithuania, Estonia – anywhere but "Slovenia". The trusty Lonely Planet guide, being totally au fait with the average traveller’s pathetic level of knowledge, tells us the most important thing we need to know about Slovenia is that it is not Slovakia. Obviously US President Bush had not read this when he famously made this mistake in one of his campaign speeches.

Slovenia is not as well known as the other former Yugoslavian republics mainly because it only had a relatively quick and painless ten-day "war". Though ironically when the connection is made with Yugoslavia, images of a battle zone and deprivation are still triggered off in the minds of many people. Some banks in the west still refuse to send any banking documents to Slovenia (I know from personal experience) and many western car insurance companies won’t insure cars here. Little do they know that you can travel the length and breadth of the country without a soldier or terrorist in sight.

The Slovenian Tourist Board has, since 1996, been making huge efforts to market Slovenia, working with tour operators and foreign journalists (200-300 are invited here every year), organising ad and promotional campaigns, attending trade fairs (around 27 per year). But despite their best efforts Slovenia did not hit the travel pages until the middle of last year when it finally became a topic of conversation for the chattering classes. In June 2001 the Financial Times described Ljubljana as existing "practically unknown to the rest of the world", "one of Europe’s last great surprises", "Prague without the crowds". The New York Times did a splash in August the same year proclaiming Slovenia to be "The Unheralded Gem on the Adriatic".

Having finally achieved fame, will Ljubljana become one of Europe’s sexy cities? According to last November’s issue of Britain’s She Magazine: "More compact than Prague but hipper than Bruges, Ljubljana, the laid-back Slovenian capital, is the next "in" place." Whether Ljubljana becomes a hip city depends on many things. Media coverage will certainly help the process along and the country’s participation in football championships and its controversial entry to the Eurovision Song Contest will definitely provide some much-needed "street credibility".

The Tourist Board and the various Slovene tour operators will have a major effect on this too. They have not been encouraging mass tourism because the infrastructure is not in place – there are only 25,000 tourist beds available. They also want to promote an image of ‘tourist boutique’ rather than a ‘hypermarket’. In the spring and autumn trips are generally organised for senior citizens and business people. In the summer and winter younger people, families and special interests groups are encouraged to come and take part in pilgrimages (monasteries, churches), wine tasting, sun holidays, cultural heritage tours, visits to the many spas and various sports activities.

The figures for the past few years show that Ljubljana has had a steady increase in the number of tourists in spite of Slovenia’s apparent lack of fame. In 1996 1.5 million people visited Slovenia rising to 2.08 million in 2001 (up 39%) and the numbers for 2002 are expected to be 8-11% up on 2001. Figures showing the number of overnight stays in Ljubljana (1999 - 2001) according to nationality show that the make-up of the tourist population has remained more or less stable also and that most (with the notable exception of the Americans) come from nearby countries. Domestic visitors remain the most important group and visitors from Italy, Germany, the US, Austria, Croatia and Great Britain make up the biggest foreign groups. In 2001 Bosnia-Herzegovina and Yugoslavia ousted France and the Netherlands as the next most important groups.

The Tourist Board’s strict management of the tourist trade has played an important part in ensuring a steady, manageable growth in tourism. This approach is probably not conducive to Ljubljana’s suddenly becoming a crowded hot spot like Prague. Additionally Ljubljana is rarely portrayed in the tourist brochures as a vibrant city full of young people. Promotional shots of the popular ‘strip’ along the river in the old town where street cafés are teeming with beautiful young things, or concerts held in the open air venues of Kri`anke or KUD are nowhere to be seen. Ljubljana’s more alternative scene in Metalkova tends to be kept under wraps altogether. All in all, I cannot see the city becoming the new happening weekend resort for stag or hen-nighters as Prague did.

Having said that, I visited a beautiful Prague devoid of tourists in 1990 and I could not imagine then returning, as I did, in 2000 to a Prague with wall-to-wall tourists. The Slovene Tourist Board does actually have plans to expand tourism with the construction of four to five big hotels (the Sheraton is being completed near the World Trade Centre), 80 small family run hotels and additional camping grounds. The total costs are estimated at around 1.25 billion EUR (provided by public and private funds). I think however that Slovenia will continue to go for quality rather than quantity.

I, like many people I know here, are torn between wanting to show Ljubljana to the world and selfishly keeping it to ourselves. Let’s hope that the city will never be overrun by tourists, like Prague, and that it will attract the true traveller rather than the lager lout. Maybe it could become the "posh" alternative to Prague!