MONITORING REPORT
The Municipality of Murska Sobota is one of 11 municipalities in Slovenia. It is the smallest urban municipality in Slovenia in terms of area, and the penultimate in terms of population (almost 19,000 people). The municipality covers an area of 64.4 km2. The town comprises 11 settlements, of which the Roma settlement Pušča. The city is surrounded by fields, forests and the river Mura. As much as 3.9% of the area is under the protection of NATURA2000 (253ha). In addition, the city is the center of the food processing industry and education in agriculture and rural areas in the region.
According to the analysis of surveys conducted in the second half of 2021, tourism in the destination has no negative impact on the environment. The destination has as much as 100% share of sewage that is treated up to the third level, the share of solid waste collected separately for processing is as much as 60.6% (data for 2020).
The municipality regularly performs air quality measurements, and appropriate information and awareness measures are taken in the event of any exceedances of pollution. The new Local Energy Concept adopted in March 2020 highlights appropriate measures to reduce emissions and use energy efficiently. All street lamps in the destination have been replaced with energy-saving light bulbs, and they are solar-charged at Lake Soboča. The lights in the destination are dimmed at night (50% of the light, between 23.00 and 5.00). Since 2019, the quality of water in Soboško Lake has been regularly monitored, as part of the lake is intended for bathers.
The Municipality of Murska Sobota is a destination of short and safe routes that are accessible to all. The destination offers residents and visitors a network of quality bicycle connections, which are constantly expanding into settlements, excellent walking conditions, attractive public suburban passenger transport and urban passenger transport Sobočanec, Avant2Go vehicle sharing system, Prostofer call transport and Soboški biciklin bicycle sharing system. In 2021, the RESPONSIBUS activity was launched, which enables free transport of visitors to the surrounding spas to events in Murska Sobota. Mobility planning is subordinated to the realization of the vision of creating better sustainable transport areas, especially for pedestrians, cyclists and the physically and sensory impaired, and at the same time creating a better living environment.
There are a total of 7 accommodation establishments in the destination, which have not yet acquired any of the green signs. The green sign GREEN KEY was acquired in the autumn of 2021 by the restaurant Gostilna Rajh Bakovci, and the Expano Interactive Park is also in the process of being acquired. Most tourists visit the destination between March and September, which means that the destination is not seasonally congested.
The destination will continue to strive to promote the sustainable development of tourism. In addition to the already established activities, also by preparing strategic documents such as the Tourism Development Strategy in IOM 2022-2027, monitoring indicators, promoting sustainability not only to the population but also to the private sector, etc.
