Paklenica Climbers' Meeting 2025 among globally distinguished examples of sustainable sports tourism
The special recognition that the project of the 25th International Climbers' Meeting Paklenica 2025 won at the first UN Tourism Awards for Excellence in Sustainable Sports Tourism represents an important international step forward for Zadar County, but also for the Croatian model of developing active holidays in protected natural areas. The project, nominated for the award by the Zadar County Tourist Board, was recognized in the category
Most Sustainable Sports Event, and the ceremony was held on Thursday, March 19, 2026, in Madrid. In this way, the event that has been associated with Paklenica National Park for a quarter of a century received confirmation that a locally rooted outdoor programme can simultaneously strengthen the destination's international visibility, stimulate tourist traffic outside the peak season, and at the same time preserve the area on which its attractiveness is based.
This is the first global awards ceremony organized by UN Tourism in cooperation with the International Automobile Federation FIA, with the aim of highlighting projects in sports tourism that combine sustainability, innovation, social impact, and high-quality public-private partnerships. The competition rules particularly emphasize that projects are evaluated which responsibly manage resources, involve the local community, and demonstrate a measurable contribution to economic, social, and environmental sustainability. In such international competition, Paklenica's distinction is not merely a protocolary commendation, but confirmation that a Croatian event has managed to establish itself as a relevant example of practice at the level of the global tourism industry.
Why Paklenica attracted the attention of the international jury in particular
The International Climbers' Meeting in Paklenica has for years had the profile of an event that goes beyond a narrow sports niche. It is held in an area that is among Croatia's most recognizable climbing and hiking destinations, and Paklenica itself is described on the official websites of tourism and park institutions as the most visited climbing site in Croatia, with around 590 climbing routes. This is not only a figure that speaks of the sporting attractiveness of the location, but also an indicator of why the event has grown into a reference point for the climbing community from Croatia and abroad. According to data from the Zadar County Tourist Board, the meeting in Paklenica gathers more than 6,000 climbers and hikers from Europe, from beginners to experienced athletes, which also gives it a strong promotional and economic dimension.
What sets Paklenica apart from numerous sports events is the fact that its identity is not built on mass participation at any cost, but on the concept of
sport in harmony with nature. Climbing, education, outdoor stay, and cultural content are shaped so as to follow the logic of the National Park area, rather than suppress it. It was precisely this approach that was one of the key reasons why the project received international recognition. Instead of a model in which the event consumes the destination, Paklenica is developing as an example of an event that builds its credibility on the protection of natural values, the safe use of space, and cooperation with local stakeholders.
An important element of the meeting's recognizability is also its multilayered nature. The programme of the 25th edition, held from May 1 to 4, 2025, included the Kids' Speed competition for the youngest participants, a speed top rope competition for adults, a climbing marathon, presentation and educational events, and the Paklenica Film Festival. Such a structure shows that the organizers are not building the event solely around a sporting result, but around a complete experience that includes education, the popularization of climbing, and the exchange of experiences. In this way, the base of participants and the audience is simultaneously broadened, while Paklenica remains open to those who are not competitors, but are part of the community of nature lovers, active living, and outdoor culture enthusiasts.
The role of the National Park and the local community
When talking about the sustainability of sports tourism, the focus is most often on reducing negative pressure on space, but real sustainability implies a much broader framework. In the case of Paklenica, this means aligning nature protection, visitor safety, tourism promotion, and benefits for the local economy. Paklenica National Park is not merely a backdrop for the event, but its fundamental content framework. The canyons of Velika and Mala Paklenica, the cliffs, forests, and mountain environment create the authenticity because of which such a meeting can be held at all, so it is logical that sustainability here is not an additional label, but a prerequisite for the survival of the entire concept.
The organization of the event therefore relies on a partnership model involving the park, the tourism sector, the local community, and the wider sports scene. Such cooperation is especially important in smaller communities such as Starigrad-Paklenica, where every larger event affects accommodation capacities, hospitality, traffic, local services, and seasonal employment. The climbers' meeting is traditionally held at the beginning of May, in a period that has strong potential for strengthening the pre-season. This is precisely one of the development determinants that the Zadar County Tourist Board has emphasized for years: events with added value do not serve only to create media visibility, but also to achieve a more even distribution of tourist traffic throughout the year.
In practice, this means that Paklenica is not important only to climbers. It is an example of how outdoor tourism can help a destination reduce its reliance on a narrow summer peak, attract guests of a different profile, and at the same time build a reputation for being a place where active holidays are not in conflict with nature conservation. At a time when pressure from tourism on the environment, traffic, and the quality of life of the local population is being discussed ever more frequently across the Mediterranean, a model in which an event grows together with the destination, and not against it, carries particular weight.
Broader context: sport as a tool of sustainable tourism
UN Tourism states that sports tourism is one of the fastest-growing segments of the global tourism industry. According to data published by UN Tourism and FIA when launching the awards, the value of the global sports tourism market reached 609 billion US dollars in 2023, and by 2032 it is expected to grow to 2.3 trillion dollars. Such indicators explain why more and more destinations are trying to position themselves precisely through sports events, recreation, and active stays in nature. However, the rapid growth of this market simultaneously raises the question of the quality of development: will sport be an additional pressure on space or a means of creating more resilient and sustainable tourism models.
Within that framework, the UN Tourism and FIA awards can also be read as an attempt to highlight those projects that count not only on the number of arrivals and overnight stays, but also on the long-term benefit for local communities and the natural environment. The award categories are therefore not accidentally set around event sustainability, contribution to the community, innovation, and public-private partnership. The message is that the success of sports tourism can no longer be measured only by full capacities and strong promotion, but also by how much a project respects the area, how much it involves local people, and how much positive legacy it leaves after it ends.
Paklenica fits into such a framework almost textbook-like. It is an event recognizable enough to have international reach, but also tied closely enough to the local area that without it it would not have the same value. That is one of the key differences between a generic sports product and an event that builds a destination's identity. Climbing in Paklenica is not transferable anywhere else without losing its meaning, and it is precisely in that uniqueness that its tourism, sporting, and symbolic strength lies.
Zadar County and positioning on the map of special-interest tourism
For Zadar County, this recognition has a meaning that goes beyond one event and one award. In the last few years, the county has been systematically developing the image of an area that, in addition to the sea and classic summer holidays, also offers a strong spectrum of special-interest products: active holidays, trail races, cycling, climbing, sailing, adventure tourism, and events linked to natural and cultural heritage. Within such a portfolio, Paklenica occupies a special place because it brings together what is increasingly important for contemporary tourism: authenticity, experience, year-round potential, and sustainability.
Additional context is provided by the fact that Croatia has already hosted important international discussions on the connection between tourism and sport. The Second World Sports Tourism Congress was held in 2023 in Petrčane near Zadar, organized by the then UNWTO and the Croatian Ministry of Tourism and Sport. At that gathering, it was emphasized that sport and tourism can be powerful generators of economic development, but only if their growth is aligned with the environmental, social, and economic goals of sustainability. Today's recognition for Paklenica can therefore also be viewed as a logical continuation of a broader process in which Zadar and its surroundings are profiling themselves as a place of serious international discussions and concrete projects in the field of sports tourism.
For local and regional institutions, this is an important confirmation of the strategy pursued so far. With this success, the Zadar County Tourist Board has shown that nominating projects with a clear sustainable component can result in international recognition, but also in additional promotion of the destination in a market that seeks content, authenticity, and responsibility. In market conditions in which not only price and location are increasingly compared, but also the quality of the experience and the relationship to the area, that kind of visibility becomes strong development capital.
What the award means for the future of the event
International recognitions in themselves do not guarantee success, but they can open space for a new phase of development. In the case of Paklenica, this means strengthening international recognition, greater interest from specialized sports and tourism audiences, and additional responsibility for the organizers and partners to maintain the standard for which the event was awarded. The UN Tourism award should not be understood as a final confirmation that the job is done, but as a signal that every next step will be under greater scrutiny from the domestic and international public.
This is particularly important because sustainability is most easily lost when a project begins to grow faster than the capacity of the area and the organization. That is precisely why Paklenica has an advantage, as its development relies on a long-standing tradition, experience of working in a protected area, and a clear awareness that the natural environment is the event's greatest value. If that balance is preserved, the award from Madrid could have an effect far broader than symbolic. It could attract new collaborations, increase the arrival of guests outside the main season, and further consolidate Paklenica's status as one of the most important outdoor brands of the Croatian south.
At the same time, the recognition comes at a moment when the 26th edition of the meeting has already been announced, which is listed on the official pages of Paklenica National Park for the period from May 1 to 3, 2026. Such continuity shows that the event is not a one-off project created for the sake of a competition or campaign, but a stable manifestation with a developed identity and audience. It is precisely this longevity that is often decisive when assessing the real contribution of an event: sustainability is not a one-time gesture, but the ability of a project to last, grow, and in the process not lose its fundamental values.
The success of Paklenica and the reach of the Dalmatinko Cup
Additional weight to the whole story is given by the fact that Zadar County had another representative in the finals of these international awards. The project
Dalmatinko Cup 2025, also nominated by the Zadar County Tourist Board, entered among the finalists in the category
Excellent public-private partnership in sports tourism. It is one of the largest international youth football tournaments in this part of Europe. According to data published when announcing the jubilee tenth edition, the tournament was held in 2025 from May 29 to June 1 on eight pitches across Zadar County and gathered more than 10,000 participants, including 3,500 competitors from almost 200 teams and more than 20 countries.
Although the Dalmatinko Cup did not win the main award, simply entering among the finalists shows the breadth of Zadar's sports-tourism portfolio. While Paklenica represents a strong example of nature-based stay and outdoor culture, the Dalmatinko Cup shows how sports tourism can also be built through a large international event for young people, with the involvement of local institutions, the private sector, families, and accompanying content. The common denominator of both projects is precisely what contemporary tourism seeks most: a recognizable experience, inclusiveness, cooperation among multiple actors, and a strong connection with the local area.
Such a double presence in international competition is important not only because of prestige. It sends a message that Zadar County is not recognized for one isolated case, but for a model of event development that can function in different sports and in different parts of the tourism year. In that sense, Paklenica's success and the finalist status of the Dalmatinko Cup together build the image of a region that does not use sport merely as a promotional ornament, but as a serious tool for the development of special-interest tourism.
A message that goes beyond one ceremony in Madrid
The award presented in Madrid comes at a time when, at the global level, examples of tourism that are based not exclusively on volume, but on quality and responsibility are being sought ever more strongly. That is precisely why recognition for Paklenica has greater value than a single ceremonial news item. It shows that Croatian destinations can be competitive when they offer content that is credible, locally rooted, and strategically aligned with the principles of sustainable development. At the same time, it reminds us that success in tourism no longer depends only on attractive nature and good promotion, but also on the ability to use that nature carefully, in the long term, and in cooperation with the people who live and work in that area.
In that sense, Paklenica is much more than a climbers' meeting. It is a model example of how a sports event can become a platform for destination promotion, visitor education, support for the local economy, and the affirmation of a tourism model that does not exhaust the area. That is why the special recognition from UN Tourism and FIA should not be read only as the success of one organizational team, but also as confirmation that the concept of developing Zadar County through sustainable and content-rich projects has international weight and a very concrete future.
Sources:- UN Tourism – official page on sports tourism and the role of sport in the sustainable development of tourism (link)- FIA – announcement of the first global UN Tourism and FIA awards and description of the categories and objectives of the award (link)- Ministry of Tourism and Sport of the Republic of Croatia – Croatian overview of the UN Tourism and FIA competition, award categories, and criteria (link)- Paklenica National Park – official programme of the 25th International Climbers' Meeting Paklenica 2025 and announcement of the 26th edition in 2026 (link)- Zadar County Tourist Board – event description, number of climbing routes, and estimated attendance of the meeting (link)- Ministry of Tourism and Sport of the Republic of Croatia – report on the 2nd World Sports Tourism Congress in Petrčane and the emphasis on sustainability (link)- 057info – announcement of the jubilee 10th edition of the Dalmatinko Cup 2025 with data on participants, teams, and the dates of the event (link)
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