Travel Beyond Horizons: Earth and Space (UP FTŠ Turistica exhibition)

Travel Beyond Horizons: Earth and Space (UP FTŠ Turistica exhibition)

On Wednesday, March 19, 2025, as part of UP Week, we opened the photography exhibition "Travel Beyond the Horizons: Earth and Space" in the Armeria Hall of UP. Space has always sparked human imagination and inspired explorers, scientists, and travelers. This year, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of UP FTŠ Turistica, we are taking a step further with a photography exhibition that raises questions about the future of tourism, space exploration, and a sustainable approach to the development of space tourism.

As part of the Transform4Europe university alliance, of which UP is a member, UP FTŠ Turistica invited both local and international photographers to present their visual interpretations of space as a place that has always drawn people to observe and visit it.
Through their lenses, the photographers have responded to questions about the limits of human curiosity: What will tourism look like in the future? Will space truly become a new tourist destination?

The exhibition offers both an academic and artistic perspective, showcasing how tourism and space intertwine their narratives. Running in Koper until the end of May 2025, the exhibition raises awareness about the importance of connecting science and industry to foster innovative and sustainable approaches in the rapidly evolving field of space travel.

The curator, Dr. Iztok Bončina, a renowned travel photographer and tourist guide, completed his PhD in Sociological Aspects of Motivations for Space Tourism within the Innovative Tourism doctoral program at the Faculty of Tourism Studies Turistica. In this exhibition, he bridges photography and critical thought on space as a future tourist destination. His lecture inaugurated the exhibition following the welcome speech by Prof. Dr. Rok Strašek, Vice-Rector for Economics and Finance at UP, and the keynote speech by Dubravka Kalin, Director-General of the Directorate for Tourism.