Many travel guides cover Slovenia, providing general information. Some of them are accessible on-line and can be found through Internet search services, such as Altavista (http://www.altavista.com) These include, e.g., the Lonely Planet Slovenia guide ( http://www.lonelyplanet.com/dest/eur/slo.htm), which provides a general overview covering history, culture, travel tips, transport, etc. A more factographic description is provided by the CIA factbook, ( http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/si.html) which includes statistics and information on the geography, people, government, economy, etc.
Citizens of many countries (such as the USA, Australia, Japan, Canada, New Zealand, European Union countries and many other) do not need a visa for short business or tourist trips to Slovenia. The World Travel Guide at http://www.wtg-online.com/data/svn/svn040.asp provides the above and other useful information on visa requirements. Detailed information on visas can be obtained from the diplomatic mission of Slovenia responsible for your country. A list of diplomatic missions with contact information can be found at http://www.sigov.si/mzz/ang/2_3.htm
We have received several enquiries by prospective ICML-99 participants from the US whether Slovenia has been affected by the Kosovo crisis. It would be thus useful to note that Slovenia has not been affected. This is the official statement of the US embassy in Slovenia: "The State Department regularly reviews the security situation in countries around the world and issues travel warnings when they believe the situation poses a threat. There is no warning against travel to Slovenia, and we do not expect this situation to change." Department of State up-to-date travel information is available at the Internet address http://travel.state.gov/ and specific information on Slovenia is available at http://www.usis.si/
Many Slovenian web sites provide useful information for tourists. Take a look at the guide to virtual Slovenia at http://www.ijs.si/slo/ and the Tourist Information Network site at http://www.creativ.si/wts/index.htm
We are looking forward to seeing you at Bled!