“The golf offer can still grow in Andalusia”.
Francisco Javier Fernández, Minister of Tourism and Sports of the Andalusian Regional Government, welcomes us to his office in the Parliament in Seville to talk about the importance of golf as a tourist activity in the autonomous community.
Golf is much more than a sport in Andalusia: it is a real tourist industry that attracts hundreds of thousands of players every year from all over Europe who travel to these parts in search of sun and good temperatures when in their countries the bad weather makes it impossible to practice it.
-How is golf tourism going this year?
-It is going very well and also, believe it or not with the weather, Christmas and January were very good. The figures are very positive and we are waiting to publish the new study, because the one we have as a reference right now is that of 2016, with more than half a million tourists coming to Andalusia to play golf.
-With around 120 golf courses in Andalusia, around a quarter of those in the whole of Spain, is it possible to say that the number of facilities has reached its peak?
-No, I believe that the offer can still grow, but it has to grow in quality; that is, we have to offer golf courses that differentiate us, that make us unique. I think that the old model of the golf course being an excuse to set up another business no longer has any place, and I think that in Andalusia we do have the capacity to grow and even to make golf the attraction of some territories that have yet to develop in that aspect.
-What territories are you referring to?
-I think we have to continue betting on the coast of Huelva, and Almeria has a very good potential.
-What promotion is your Department doing to try to increase the number of golf tourists traveling to Andalusia?
-Aside from the classic that is usually done in specialized fairs and so on, we changed the policy of promoting Andalusia because what we tried to do is to be seen outside the maximum possible golf played here. I think the important thing is to be on many television screens, to be in many homes, when in other countries there is bad weather, a climate that does not favor the practice of golf there, and to be able to show that in Andalusia you can be in October or February playing golf in short sleeves without any kind of problem. We had gone from a brand policy of Andalusia linked to golf to truly show the excellence of our courses, and that is why we wanted to bring tournaments, we wanted the Open de España Femenino to be played here and to show how at the beginning of autumn the courses had not suffered the heat of the summer and were still in perfect condition. That is our bet, to bring tournaments, to promote tournaments that were already held here, and also to value some courses that are different, as for example the bet that is being made in Almeria with Desert Springs. (the Arizona desert style field).
-We often talk about the need for collaboration between public administrations and the private sector. Is there such cooperation between the Ministry of Tourism and companies in the sector for the promotion of golf tourism?
-Here I have to thank the role played by the Andalusian Golf Federation, which is a transmission belt in this sense, but in addition to the connection that can be linked to tournaments, there is also a good relationship between the various golf courses and the Ministry when it comes to attending fairs or when it comes to having a presence abroad, and we have to thank the golf courses for this collaboration because they always want to be present and some of them have very different philosophies, because some of them owe their members and others have a more commercial vision of the golf course, but in the end I think it is a good alliance and I am happy with the relationship.
-Do you think that Andalusian society understands the importance of golf for the economy of the autonomous community?
-Yes, I think that day by day it is understanding the importance it has as a tourist attraction, as a resource that motivates half a million tourists who come mainly attracted by golf and who find here many other leisure attractions.
-Are we losing the prejudice that golf is a sport for the rich?
-Little by little it is being achieved. The effort being made by the administrations to provide it with public courses, the El Toyo golf school that we have in Almeria, where golf is being made accessible in a natural way and also affordable to any pocket, is something that has an impact on the fact that these prejudices about golf are being removed.
-In this commitment to sponsoring major tournaments, the Andalucía Valderrama Masters is undoubtedly the jewel in the crown. What is your assessment of last year’s edition?
-In the sporting aspect we enjoyed a lot, although we would have liked that Jon Rahm had passed the cut, and as far as promotion is concerned we are very satisfied. The name of Andalusia linked to the excellence and history of a course like Valderrama, which continues to be part of the offer of excellence that Andalusia has, has been projected to the whole world and has reinforced the idea that we were right to support the tournament.
-Is there an estimate of how many viewers might have watched the tournament on television?
-The company that broadcast it gave us a figure of 41 million households. To this we must add the diffusion achieved with all the news that was generated and the specialized and general news programs.
-Is it safe to say that sponsorship of the Andalucía Valderrama Masters is a profitable investment?
-Yes, and it is profitable because of the minutes that the Andalucía Valderrama Masters was on television, because of its presence in the different media, in specialized magazines… All that generated a return in advertising, in Andalusia’s image, which made the investment very profitable. And it is also an investment for the benefit of all Andalusia because it was seen that golf can be played here at the end of October and in short sleeves, and that is as important as when it was seen in the Davis Cup between England and Spain with the public in short sleeves in February. This is intangible, but it is very important for the Andalusian brand.
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