Impact of Sporting Events on Destination Tourism Offer: Case study of Pannonian Challenge and DOBRO World Cup

Abstract

This paper analyses the impact of sporting events on a destination’s tourism offer, with a particular focus on the city of Osijek and two international events: the Pannonian Challenge and the DOBRO World Cup. The study is grounded in the theoretical framework of sport and event tourism, which highlights the role of events in generating tourism demand, strengthening destination image, and extending the tourism season. The empirical part of the research is based on the analysis of secondary data on tourist overnight stays generated by events held in Osijek during 2023, as well as on tourism statistics on arrivals and overnight stays recorded during the week of the international gymnastics competition DOBRO World Cup in April 2025. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and regression analysis were applied to examine the relationship between domestic and international tourism demand and to assess the tourism effects of sporting events. The results indicate that sporting events generate a significant level of tourism demand, with the analysed events producing a total of 28,214 overnight stays in 2023. The structure of tourism demand shows a relatively balanced relationship between domestic and foreign tourists, suggesting an increasing internationalisation of tourism associated with events. A strong positive relationship between domestic and foreign overnight stays was also identified, indicating that event attractiveness simultaneously influences both tourism markets. Furthermore, the analysis of the DOBRO World Cup shows that foreign tourists record a longer average length of stay compared with domestic visitors. The findings highlight the importance of sporting events as strategic tourism products and underline the need to integrate them into destination tourism development and management strategies.