“HOSTING THE SOLHEIM CUP IS OUR MOST AMBITIOUS CHALLENGE”

Extremely familiar with the tourism sector thanks to his extensive political experience in the Andalucian government, Luciano Alonso has once again taken over responsibility for tourism and commerce, and he did so highlighting the importance of golf as part of the region’s diverse range of tourist amenities and attractions.

One of the tourism ministry’s major initiatives for 2015 is strengthening Andalucía as a golf destination. What objectives have been outlined in this respect?

- Golf is a top-class resource on Andalucía’s touristic map. More than 400,000 tourists visit us every year to play the sport. Our region leads the way in amenities, with nearly 22 per cent of the total number of courses in Spain and the highest concentration in continental Europe.

We also know that golf tourism involves a longer stay than average and higher spending power, and it helps to ease the seasonal nature of tourism and to diversify our amenities.

With these credentials, we can’t just talk about one other activity. Boosting golf tourism has become a key priority for Andalucía, and we’ve recognised that fact in the current Strategic Plan for the Promotion of Golf Tourism 2015-206, which proposes more than 100 initiatives for this segment, in 20 countries, with the aim of bolstering its competitiveness and positioning Andalucía as one of Europe’s most diverse and well-established golf destinations.

- Recently a working meeting was held on the Costa del Sol involving more than 50 golf tour operators from 17 countries as part of an initiative promoted by Turismo Andaluz and coordinated by the IAGTO. What role does the tour operator sector have in a prime European golf tourism destination like Andalucía?

- The tour operator is a key figure in the marketing and sale of this product. They involve approximately 70 per cent of golf tourism coming from northern and central Europe, especially Britain and Germany, so they are an indispensable ally in invigorating this segment. In rival areas such as the Algarve and Turkey this percentage – when referring to arrivals – is even higher, so that’s more reason to maintain a good relationship with the main operators and convert this into alliances and work meetings like the one you referred to by the IAGTO on the Costa del Sol.

This meeting was, in fact, the largest one organised by the association in Spain this year, and it resulted in more than 1,000 contacts being made between its members and tourist companies in Andalucía.

- In reference to the objective of hosting the Solheim Cup in 2019, it seems as though the ministry has returned to its former tourism strategy of promoting major tournaments that spread the word about Andalucian golf to millions of golfers around the world. Is there a possibility of sponsoring other major tournaments in the short term?

- Andalucía’s candidature for the 2019 Solheim Cup is, for the moment, our most ambitious challenge, but not the only one. In this respect, as far as sponsorship is concerned, we have re-directed some objectives, especially bearing in mind the return generated, but never abandoning our promotional initiatives. To that end, the project to host the Solheim Cup will take us to the next edition of this tournament, in Germany in September, and we are also collaborating with one of the premier national women’s amateur circuits in Spain, Lady Golf.

In addition, just a few days ago we were involved with the Spanish Professionals Championship in Huelva, and we are promoting the Andalucian brand in the main European source markets, with our presence on the European Senior Tour and amateur junior circuits, both in the UK, and at European Tour tournaments such as the Nordea Masters in Sweden, the Paris Open, the Omega European Masters in Switzerland, the Made in Denmark and the KLM Open in Holland.

We are also strengthening our promotional strategy by highlighting Andalucía’s golf attractions at several fairs and specialist conferences focused on the British and German markets as well as in other source markets of interest such as Denmark, Norway and the Czech Republic.

- One campaign receiving unanimous support in the industry is the call for a cut in the IVA (VAT) rate applied to golf courses, which the national government increased from eight to 21 per cent at the end of 2012. Do you believe it’s possible this rate will be reduced again, and that the treasury ministry will agree to return golf courses to tourist installation status for tax purposes?

- Categorically yes. I have said this on every occasion possible, not only in reference to golf but also to other tourist and cultural activities that have seen their competitiveness and job creation potential reduced due to this disastrous and unfair measure by Mariano Rajoy’s government.

- Andalucía has tripled the number of golfers registered with the federation over the past decade, which gives an idea how much the sport has grown in the region. In what way has your ministry contributed to this increase?

We began 2015 with 45,000 registered golfers in Andalucía. I believe this figure disproves the old myth that golf was an elite and exclusive sport for a reduced group of enthusiasts. Our aim has been for golf to reach more people, to be played more and more throughout Andalucía, and to that end we have maintained in operation the public-owned golf courses run directly by the ministry, which offer very well balanced prices, and we are also expanding the number of public golf academies, including one due to be opened in Almería this year.

- What are the ministry’s forecasts for tourist numbers this year in Andalucía? Do you believe there will be more than the 24 million who visited in 2014, which represented a 6.6 per cent increase compared with 2013?

- We are confident we will surpass that excellent figure. In fact, this year we aim to increase the overall number of tourists by five per cent, which would represent 1.2 million additional tourists visiting Andalucía. This is an ambitious objective, but possible. The first figures we have received support our forecasts: the numbers for both visitors staying in hotels and the nights they stay – two of the key indices that best represent the evolution of any destination – show increases of more than six per cent for the first four-month period of the year.

In any event, beyond the numbers, our ongoing resolve is to consolidate this growth so that it doesn’t just become a one-off but rather is converted into profitability for tourist companies and stable and quality employment for people in Andalucía.

- Andalucía is the fourth most popular destination in Spain for international tourists, behind Cataluña, the Balearics and the Canary Isles. Last year the region’s tourist numbers increased more than the average. Is it possible Andalulucía could position itself among the top three Spanish destinations in this ranking?

- Yes, it’s true that our region is the fourth most popular in Spain among foreign tourists, the same as it is ranked first and is the indisputable leader for Spanish national tourism. It is a priority for Andalucía to improve its quota of the international tourism market, both traditional and emerging.

 

Nevertheless, and returning to my previous answer, I believe our objective is us ourselves. Tourism is not a competition between destinations but rather a daily test of competiveness, of knowing how far we are prepared to go to offer the best product and service, of the highest quality, the most innovative and sustainable, the most balanced when it comes to price, the most attractive... Our challenge doesn’t come from our competitors, but from being able to make a strong effort every day to offer a better destination. Tourists always reward this effort – I’m convinced of that – and Andalucía is reaping the rewards of its hard work. In the tourist sphere, Andalucía’s destinations have been playing well under par for many years.

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