Golf key to promoting Costa Blanca as year-round destination

GOLF is key to promoting the Costa Blanca as a year-round destination.
This was one of the central messages at a gathering looking at the economic impact of golf on the region and analyzing how to promote the Costa Blanca’s golfing offer on the international market.
At the centre of the event was the presentation of the Alicante Chamber of Commerce’s report ‘Golf Tourism in the Valencian Community’.
The report highlights the major contribution the sector makes to the regional economy, adding up to €745 million and creating more than 9,000 jobs.
Mari Carmen Pastor from the Chamber of Commerce pointed out it is not just the golf courses themselves which generate income and employment, but also the complementary tourist industry: hotels, restaurants, shops, car rental, airport transfers, and so on.
She drew attention to the above average spending power of golf tourists, as well as to the crucial role of the sport in attracting people to the region outside the high summer season, and especially in spring and autumn.
The report also revealed that 84 per cent of golf players in the Valencian Community are foreigners, and 89 per cent in Alicante province. Foreign golf tourists are predominantly British, French and German, and typically spend €98.5 a day.
Head of the Valencia regional government’s Tourism department Francesc Colomer, opened the event. He remarked particularly on the support of the Valencia regional tourist board and the Costa Blanca golf course association in “developing such productive initiatives as this report, which demonstrates the importance of golf in the Valencian Community.”
Golf is, Colomer said, “the industry of happiness, and the tourists who visit us are a blessing for the area.”
Alicante city Tourism councillor and deputy mayor Mari Carmen Sanchez underlined the attention grabbing statistics contained in the report and just how big an economic impact golf has in the region, commenting on the importance of continuing to support and promote the sector.
“In Alicante we have everything the golf tourist needs: an excellent climate, unbeatable conditions, quality golf courses and a great offer of hotels and restaurants”, she stressed.
The president of the Alicante provincial government Carlos Mazon was the last to speak at the event. He pointed out the important role of the Costa Blanca Golf Courses Association in attracting players to the region and its contribution to making it a place people want to visit 12 months a year.