\"Ildefonso

“At Valle Romano, clients always return”

Ildefonso Esquivel took over as manager of Valle Romano barely two years ago… in the midst of the “special period”, a term no doubt favoured by Cuban authorities in order to avoid the use of “acute crisis”.

In these difficult times, he has managed to keep the course afloat, enhance its reputation and guide it on a path of constant growth. Now, he is quite optimistic about the future – albeit cautious optimism, because it is still too soon to start ringing the celebratory bells.

–We are just about to enter the final quarter of 2011. Can you give us an assessment of how the season has been so far?

–In general terms, at least for us, the year has been very good. We’ve had a very high number of rounds played, and our financial results have exceeded expectations. There is one factor we particularly like: clients are returning again and again, because they leave satisfied and like the course.

–Is summer the low season, or not so much any more?

–The seasons are fairly diluted. In our case, and being in Estepona, the summer season (July- August) is not a low season because we have a lot of players from Sotogrande, where they have a significant community of residents and high occupation in summer. What we all have to aim for is a good balance of prices, and to unify the seasons even more, to ensure there aren’t too many differences between them, because these differences are becoming less pronounced as far as players are concerned.

–How do you see the immediate future, for the new season beginning in September- October?

–Valle Romano’s prospects up to December are good. Bookings for October and November are high and, as has been the case in recent years, we are confident there will be numerous bookings at the last moment. It is becoming increasingly common for people to go directly to the caddie master’s to arrange a round.

On a general level, I’ve spoken to other colleagues about this and we’ve reached the conclusion that most courses this year are experiencing the same results as in 2008. These are very favourable figures because the worst year for the golf industry on the Costa del Sol was 2010.

–There seem to be some indications of a recovery in the British market. Do you believe this is the case as well?

–It’s a little too soon to confirm this, though obviously there are external factors that help us, such as the conflicts in northern Africa, the fact that Turkey is starting to suffer from overcrowding as far as tee times are concerned (it shouldn’t be overlooked that they barely have 20 courses), though not accommodation, etc. Results throughout Spain have improved a lot in comparison with other years: the Canary Isles, Balearics, though their market is more German-orientated, and other golf tourism areas have experienced something of a minor rebirth this season. Furthermore, I believe British golfers have started to feel a little burned by other destinations and are once again putting their confidence in the Costa del Sol and other parts of Spain.

–Do you believe the authorities – Turismo Andaluz, provincial tourism boards and town halls – are doing enough to promote golf in Andalucía?

–In this tourism sector, as in any other, the state must support private initiative. I believe we should be more ambitious in the promotion and support of companies that provide clients: tour operators, airlines, etc. Such investment is profitable in the short term. I still remember that when we suffered the loss of the main golf tour operator, who had a significant share of the market, no one helped them. Other regions offer this kind of support and achieve good results.

 

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