Sun&Blue Congress Awards 2025
The Sun&Blue 2025 Awards ceremony took place this afternoon as part of the III Edition of the Sun&Blue Congress.
Published at 2 weeks ago
These awards recognize innovation, commitment, and excellence in the development of the Blue Economy, highlighting national and international initiatives that promote more sustainable tourism, energy and water management, and experiences linked to the sea.
In this third edition, the awards were presented by prominent professionals from sectors related to tourism and sustainability, both public and private, in an event that once again demonstrated the congress’s leadership in promoting transformative projects.
The II Sun&Blue Research Edition, organized in collaboration with the University of Almería, rewarded academic works focused on tourism and the blue economy. These awards highlighted the importance of science and research for the development of sustainable coastal tourism.
Best Oral Presentation
The award for Best Oral Presentation went to the study “Popular music festivals on the Spanish coast (2015–2025): foundations to measure their impact on blue tourism,” a work by Daniel Catalá-Pérez and Juan Luis Nicolau from the Universitat Politècnica de València.
Best Poster Presentation
The recognition for Best Poster Presentation went to “Rethinking the sustainability of cruise tourism,” a work from the University of Almería that analyzes tensions, impacts, and strategies for emerging destinations in the southeast of Spain, a work by Juan Carlos Pérez Mesa; María del Carmen García Barranco; María del Mar Serrano Arcos; Jesús Hernández Rubio..
Blue Innovation Challenge
During the congress, the First Edition of the Blue Innovation Challenge was also held, an initiative focused on open innovation and youth cooperation, which posed three key challenges for a more sustainable Mediterranean. Jointly organized by the European program Interreg NEXT MED and the municipal initiative Almería 2030, the Challenge rewarded innovative solutions presented on-site by its participants.
The first prize, valued at €3,000, went to Algaware Project, a proposal based on the study of polymers generated from the invasive algae Rugulopteryx okamurae, with potential application in the production of bioplastics for food use.
The second prize, worth €2,000, went to Bluemind, a modular and intelligent system for the on-site regeneration and reuse of gray water in hotel facilities.
The third prize, with an award of €1,000, went to Bluecycle, a circular system for real-time water recycling in hotels and tourist buildings in the Mediterranean.
The winners of the Sun&Blue 2025 Awards in their different categories were:
Sun&Blue 2025 Award for Blue Destination
The jury awarded a Special Mention to the project Terrimar Colindres Azul – Territorio Marinero Turístico Azul de Colindres, promoted by the Colindres City Council (Cantabria), for succeeding in consolidating Colindres as a Blue Seafaring Destination that places its fishing port, its traditional trades, and the entire local seafaring identity at the center.
The main Sun&Blue 2025 Blue Destination award went to Dubrovnik – Respect the City, a comprehensive sustainable tourism management strategy driven by the Croatian city that has addressed massive cruise and seasonal tourism to transform it into a sustainable destination management model by combining technology, smart regulations, education, and local community participation.
Sun&Blue 2025 Award for Innovation in Blue Energy Management
The Special Mention of the Jury recognized the self-ballasted photovoltaic canopy URVEN PARK L, developed by Domini Ambiental (Barcelona), a project that transforms parking areas in port zones into energy hubs capable of generating solar power on-site.
The main award went to the Port of Vigo Hydrogen Strategy: a living lab for the energy transition. A project that is turning the Port of Vigo into a European model of decarbonization, creating a living laboratory to deploy green hydrogen technologies in the maritime-port sector.
Sun&Blue 2025 Award for Cooperation in the Blue Economy
The award went to the Spanish Network of Blue Schools (Blue Schools Cluster), based in Felanitx (Illes Balears), an educational initiative that connects over 200 educational centers throughout Spain to educate new generations in marine values and coastal sustainability, and which is today the largest network of Blue Schools in Europe.
Sun&Blue 2025 Award for Innovation in Blue Water Management
The Special Mention of the Jury was awarded to the Vertical Garden at Hotel Mariposa, a project by Biotonomy AB (Málaga) that reuses gray water to renaturalize urban spaces.
The category award went to Bioremed Algae, by Mediterranean Algae (Alicante), a modular marine bioremediation platform that uses Mediterranean macroalgae to eliminate polluting nutrients present in port and coastal waters, and which, in the port of Alicante, in just one month has managed to filter more than 5 million liters of water, reducing the nitrate load by over 65% and capturing CO2 and heavy metals.
Sun&Blue 2025 Award for Blue Tourism Experience 2025
The TUNA TOUR project, from Grupo Balfegó (Tarragona), received recognition for its immersive proposal that combines marine education and experiential tourism related to bluefin tuna.
Sun&Blue 2025 Special Award for the Living Memory of the Sea
The tribute of this edition was for Mario Sanz, the last lighthouse keeper of Mesa Roldán (Almería), whose work and career represent the essence and living memory of the coast thanks to his task of watching over its shores for 30 years, ensuring the safety of seafarers, and creating and maintaining since 2008 a museum in the lighthouse itself that collects the history and heritage of seafaring and lighthouse-keeping culture.
