PS Blasts Huliak, Slovakia's Participation in Expo Osaka 2025 and Slovak Travel

Bratislava, May 30 (TASR) - The opposition's Progressive Slovakia (PS) party criticized the work of the Ministry of Tourism and Sport on Friday, underlining that the ministry is wasting money without a vision or even a basic idea of what it wants to achieve. Its subordinate organization Slovakia Travel also caught flak, for example, over Slovakia's exposition at the world exhibition Expo Osaka. „When the political sinecure in the form of the Ministry of Tourism and Sport was created, we heard a lot about the need to systematically develop tourism and sport in Slovakia," said MP Richard Dubovicky (PS). „To this day, a basic strategic document is missing — such as a tourism development concept for Slovakia — which should define the framework for investment, support, and long-term growth of this sector." According to Dubovicky, the national tourism promotion organization Slovakia Travel is not fulfilling its mission. He pointed to data from the Statistics Office, which reported on Friday that just over 130,000 foreign tourists came to Slovakia last year through Slovak travel agencies and tour operators. Active tourism thus saw a sharp drop in visitor numbers — down by one-third year-on-year, and by as much as 61 percent compared to 2019, Dubovicky stated. One of the reasons for the decline, he said, is rising prices caused by the introduction of a transaction tax and an increase in VAT, both of which raise costs in the tourism sector and for travel agencies. „Small entrepreneurs, employees, and vacationers are the ones who suffer most," he added. PS also specifically addressed Slovakia’s pavilion at Expo Osaka. According to the progressives, the Expo so far is associated with excessive costs and a lack of transparency. They criticized that Slovakia’s exhibition space is in a shared pavilion with countries like Panama and Uruguay, with an area of only 68 square meters— 30 times smaller than Slovakia’s pavilion at the previous Expo in Dubai. They also pointed out to a ruling by the Public Procurement Office, which stated that Slovakia Travel acted unlawfully by canceling a tender for certain services without valid justification. At a press conference on Friday, Tourism Minister Huliak announced that Slovakia Travel will be investigated by the Supreme Audit Authority (NKU) over the Expo in Osaka. Slovakia Travel’s current management has previously stated that it does not shirk responsibility for the funding process related to the Osaka pavilion, but noted that the public procurement process was conducted last year under the previous leadership of both the ministry and the organization. „The same goes for the contract amendment that was the subject of media attention — it was signed this year, but still by the former management," emphasized Slovakia Travel spokesperson Zuzana Eliasova in early May. „After being briefed on the current findings, the Minister of Tourism and Sport initiated changes in the leadership," she added. mf