sign in sign up
<<
Home , Baredi, Cetore, Dobrava (toponym), Izola, Jagodje, Malija

Photo: Jaka Ivančič Jaka Photo:

GREEN SCHEEME OF SLOVENIAN TOURISM REPORT ON GREEN/SUSTAINABLE INDICATORS OF THE TOURIST DESTINATION

The joined in 2020 the Green Scheme of Slovenian Tourism (GSST), an internationally recognized certification pro- gram for the development of green destinations, in order to establish a sustainable tourism mod- el, which will valorize local potentials (natural, social, cultural) and connect them into a unique offer of the tourist destination Izola.

During the certification process to obtaining the

SLOVENIA GREEN DESTINATION label, which is Riiba Photo: an integral part of the Green Scheme, we collect- ed data about the present situation, answered nearly 100 questions – STANDARDS and fulfilled more than 60 INDICATORS. All the key features of the destination are included in the Indicator report and briefly summarized below. As a next step we plan to establish a system to monitor in- dicators that will allow us to adopt appropriate improvements to maintain or improve the situa- tion in the future. Izola is a municipality with a smile!

In the Strategy for the Sustainable Growth of Slovenian Tourism for 2017-2021, the Municipality of Izola is recognized as one of the leading destinations in the macro-destination Mediterranean . Izola is an Istrian town in the Coast- al-Karst region, located on the southern coast of the Gulf of at 2 m above 300 sea level. Members of the autochthonous Italian national community live in the sunny days area, and besides Slovenian, Italian is also an official language. per year Izola has a rich cultural heritage and history, as its territory was inhabited already in the Bronze and Iron Ages due to the favorable living conditions. Izola lost its is- average land shape in the 19th century, when its salt pans turned into swamps, which were temperature gradually backfilled. As a result, the typical island image of Izola slowly disap- peared, however, Izola preserves still today its medieval image with a church on 28 °C a hilltop, the intertwined network of narrow streets, high houses and the town`s in summer port that protects vessels from the waves. Izola is known for its fishing tradition, shipbuilding, winemaking, olive growing and since the end of the 19th century 5 °C also because of the fish processing industry. in winter Izola may be accessed by land and sea. Before the COVID-19 period, the Marina of Izola was one of the leading centers of nautical tourism on the national level and in a wider regional area.

Izola is today a lively Mediterranean town, a popular tourist destination, while its true

spirit is still reflected in fishing, winemaking Ivančič Jaka Photo: and olive oil production. Its image of an old charming fishing town is what makes it so dif- ferent from all the other neighboring seaside towns.

Izola partly extends to the Land- scape Park, in fact to its most interesting part, Photo: Riiba Photo: Photo: Jaka Ivančič Jaka Photo: the 80 m high Strunjan Cliff, which together with its edge and a 200 m coastline has been declared a nature reserve. This is also the longest pristine coastline on the entire 130 km long coast of the , that starches between Grado in and Savudrija in . The Gulf of Trieste is characterized by the ex- changing layers of sandstone, marl and carbonate turbidite, while on the outside it is partially covered with the Mediterranean vegetation. The amazing 4 km long hiking trail along the Cliff offers many stunning panoramic view points to enjoy. The main tourist products of the destination are: sun and sea, health and well-be- ing, gastronomy, business meetings and events. 80 m Cliff height Photo: Jaka Ivančič Jaka Photo: 29 km2 total area of the Municipality of Izola Photo: Riiba Photo:

The basic tourist products are based on events, outdoor tourism, culture, nature experienc-

es, countryside, nautical and sports tourism, Riiba Photo: round trips and special interests. Detailed pre- sentations of products are provided below.

General information, nature

The Municipality of Izola is located in the southwestern part of the Republic of Slovenia, it is part of the Coastal-Karst region and mea- sures 29 km². In terms of covered area it ranks 182nd among all Slovenian municipalities. It borders the Municipality of on East, while on West and South the Municipality of . The border between the municipalities of Izola and Koper runs from Cape Viližan through Mt. Markovec, St. Donat up to the valley of Drnica. The border with the is defined by the right bank of the River Drnica and the villages of Slami, Stara vas, Morgani, Nožed, Kosterlag and Cape Ronek. The settlements of the Municipality of Izola are , , , Izola, Ja- godje, Korte, , Šared, Nožed. The highest pick is the Hill Malija with its 278 m above sea level. The coastline is 8,5 km long. In the middle of 2019 the Municipality of Izola had 16.370 inhabitants. 278 m The Municipality Day is celebrated every year on 11 July – which remembers the the highest day of the departure of a large number of citizens to the partisans (11 July 1944). point – The Marina of Izola with its 700 berths is an excellent starting point for cruises Malija Hill along the Adriatic coast.

Culture and tradition 8,5 km length of the Izola has a rich tangible and intangible heritage. A detailed list of cultural heri- coastline tage, including 54 historic protected buildings like churches, villas, homesteads, and 10 places of special interest, like monuments, chapels and military cemeter- ies, is included in the Report of the Cultural Heritage of Izola. Izola has 6 protected settlements, where traditional architecture is preserved with spatial acts that lim- it the allowed interventions, and there are 8 other structures that are regarded as Riiba Photo: important parts of the traditional cultural heritage – fountains, tunnels, bridges and transformer stations. The destination is characterized by 3 units of cultural landscape – Izola, , Korte and additionally to the officially protected cul- tural heritage, there are hundreds of other privately owned elements of tradition- al architecture, that strongly mark our area and define its special charm. There is also a museum in Izola. Photo: Jaka Ivančič Jaka Photo: Photo: Jaka Ivančič Jaka Photo: Tourism

In addition to the cultural tourism, active holidays are one of the main pillars of the destination’s tourist offer. The Tourist Information Center provides informa- tion about the marked cycling trails, hiking paths and other sights of special inter- est to visitors and locals. Besides the old town of Izola, the surrounding country- side is becoming more and more popular among the tourists. Photo: Riiba Photo:

420 accommodation establishments

The destination of Izola has 420 accommodation establishments (rooms, apart- ments, hotels, private bed providers) and two campsites. Among all we are espe- cially proud of Cliff Hotel & Spa****, which boasts the Green Key eco-label and is the first one in our destination in the certification process for the Green Accom- modation label.

Due to the extremely favorable climate, its geostrategic location and diverse tour- ism products, Izola is an ideal destination to development an all year around tour- ism offer. The 80 % of all visits in 8 months (from April to November) as reported in the attached report (based on the data from the ttaksa program) is already a very Mitja Božič Photo: good result compared to the Slovenian average. The all year around tourism offer remains one of the key priorities of the destination and that is also emphasized in our new tourism strategy.

There are several tourist associations in the Municipality of Izola, which together with the municipality and the Tourist Association of Izola organize many events to promote and preserve local traditions.

Visitors in our destination may enjoy an exceptionally biodiversity. The Strunjan Landscape Park with its unique marine flora and fauna, amazing pastures, forests and the green landscape dominate the surroundings of the town. The country- side of Izola is very popular among cyclists and hikers, as it offers many marked trails to explore the local cultural and natural heritage.

Izola is an easily accessible destination. Environmentally friendly and carbon-free travel is encouraged within and between the neighboring destinations. It is also extremely safe and no cases of illegal hunting or sale of protected animals have been reported yet.

A survey among the population recorded a high level of satisfaction with the cur- rent diversity and quality of the destination’s offer. 45 % of people strongly agree and 38 % of people agree with the tourism development plan of the Municipality of Izola, while 13 % of people strongly agree and 49 % agree that tourism has a positive impact on the local identity, culture and heritage of our destination. Sim- ilarly, they also agree that the local community enjoys great benefits from tour- ism and tourists, and that they prefer tourism over any other industry to develop in the destination. A survey among visitors recorded that 75 % of visitors were satisfied or even very satisfied with the visit of Izola.

As indicated in the new just adopted tourism strategy, we are well aware of our green and blue treasures. With the sustainable development on all levels and by following the guidelines of the Green Scheme of Slovenian Tourism we aim to pre- serve our valuable heritage for the future generations.

We will regularly follow and monitor the key indicators of the Green Scheme and publish the results annually on our destination’s website.

Izola, 20.03.2021 Green coordinator of Izola Teja Rozman Photo: Riiba Photo: Photo: Riiba Photo: