Untapped tourism potential of Subotica and its surroundings: inspiration from Pécs as a european example of good practice

This paper explores the untapped tourism potential of Subotica and its surroundings by drawing inspiration from Pécs as a European example of good practice. Based on the hypothesis that Subotica can significantly enhance its attractiveness and competitiveness by applying successful strategies from Pécs,
the study analyzes tourists’ perceptions of Pécs’ cultural, natural, and infrastructural resources. A structured survey was conducted among 184 respondents using a five-point Likert scale, with data analyzed through descriptive statistics and Pearson’s chi-square test. The results highlight the importance of architecture, cultural events, multicultural tradition, infrastructure, wine tourism, accessibility, digital tools, destination identity, and staff hospitality in shaping visitor satisfaction and loyalty. These findings provide valuable implications for Subotica, which possesses comparable resources such as Art Nouveau architecture, Palić and Ludaš Lakes, Subotica Sand, multicultural heritage, vineyards, rural tourism, and major cultural manifestations. Practical recommendations include the spatial zoning of tourism resources into cultural-historical, eco-rural, wine, event-based, and recreational zones, alongside investments in infrastructure, digital accessibility, and staff training. The study confirms the hypothesis and contributes to sustainable tourism planning by linking empirical evidence from Pécs with strategic directions for Subotica’s development.