When we talk about the Costa Dorada we are talking about beaches, summer and relaxation. Very few would mention golf, and it is true that at the moment the Costa Dorada is not particularly well-known as a golf destination – but rather as one offering beaches and leisure options aimed at more seasonal tourism.
Nevertheless, the Costa Dorada does have a sufficiently impressive infrastructure, rare on Spain’s coastline, to be considered a golf destination. Tarragona province has no fewer than six golf courses, with the newest, Lumine Golf Club, designed to cater for both beginners and top competition.
The Costa Dorada also has a wide range of highly attractive cultural, gastronomic, wine-making and leisure options for tourists, something other emerging or even well-established destinations don’t offer.
Tarragona province has a moderate climate, with beaches, world heritage monuments, important Roman ruins, interesting “Denominación de Origen” bodegas, gastrobars, Michelin-star restaurants and Port Aventura, the only amusement park of its kind in Europe – all the ingredients to make it the ideal winter city and destination.
A PROVINCE WITH PLENTY TO OFFER
Culture: Tarragona is home to Roman ruins of incalculable value and, a little further inland, the Cister route, Modernista route, etc…
Gastronomy: The province has a wide range of establishments. Cambrils, for example, has two Michelin-star restaurants, while Lumine Restaurant has twice received the award as best restaurant in the province.
Wellness: There is an increasing choice of leisure-relaxation amenities, including hot springs, urban thermal waters and spa hotels.
Infrastructure: Reus airport is just 10 minutes from the golf courses and Barcelona airport only one hour. The Tarragona AVE high-speed train station is minutes away, making access from Madrid and Zaragoza much easier and quicker.
Highways and tollways: The Lumine golf courses are conveniently located thanks to the network of tollways and main roads in the area.
Hotel: The Costa Dorada area is well-known for its extensive range of hotel amenities offering excellent quality, comfort and service.
All of which makes it clear that for most of us there is still much to discover about the Costa Dorada.
LUMINE GOLF: MAJOR COMMITMENT TO COSTA DORADA
It’s an open secret that all the efforts being made to boost the Costa Dorada will bear fruit in 2012, and Lumine – as its name suggests – will be shining a light on the whole area with its determination to offer and promote an impressive infrastructure for more winter-orientated tourism.
To that end, the Costa Dorada together with Lumine Golf attended the IGTM (International Golf Travel Market) in Turkey, where they made contact with numerous tour operators. In 2011 alone, Lumine Golf signed 62 contracts with various tour operators to cover the Swedish, British and German markets, a form of tourism that is extremely attractive for the area, with visitors from those countries keen to travel to warmer climates such as Spain’s in winter. They have also reached agreement with 36 hotels in the area to provide tourists with all the services necessary for accommodation and transfers.
Lumine Golf is keen to focus on Nordic tourists as they tend to prefer long stays: the typical profile is an average age of 55, travelling as a couple, normally of a high economic, cultural and social status, who want to spend the winter season in warmer climes.
They tend to rent an apartment, play golf, and enjoy the area’s cuisine and good winter weather. Sweden is a rising market that is gaining strength in other countries. Attracting such tourists to the Costa Dorada is an important means of reducing the seasonal nature of the industry, with an attractive and high quality profile of visitor.
NATIONAL AND REGIONAL TOURISM
Lumine Golf took part in the two important most important golf fairs in Spain in 2011: the first in Barcelona and the second in Madrid. In both cases, the aim was to highlight Lumine’s golf amenities to more than 30,000 golfers who are members of the federation in Barcelona and the more than 110,000 players officially registered in Madrid.
Many readers will ask, so how many golfers are there in Tarragona? Paradoxically, bearing in mind the number of golf courses, there are only 1,800 golfers registered with the federation. Hence the necessity of promoting a different kind of tourism.
In order to boost the number of visiting golfers, Lumine has signed an agreement with 55 courses, facilitating the movement of players between them.
Lumine is also investing a great deal of time and effort into the sporting culture of golf for residents in the area. To that end, they have launched several initiatives and have signed agreements with various institutions. The objective is to enable people to familiarise themselves with a sport that has been considered elitist in the past.
By way of example, these initiatives include:
• Residents of Vilaseca have reduced rates.
• Families can play golf with their children without having to pay for them.
• In a market that comprises 70 per cent men, Lumine has launched a
course for women.
• Golf school – for all those who want to start playing the game beginner
courses are available at very accessible rates.
• Children’s school – to promote golf among the young, Lumine has a golf
school offering courses for children six to 16 years.
• Lumine is offering very attractive 2012 packages for golf+football+
gastronomy, allowing clients to play golf, enjoy the cuisine and watch
some of the main matches at Barcelona’s Camp Nou, without having
to worry about transport to Barcelona.
