“Golf makes our destination 100 percent attractive year-round.”
Margarita del Cid, president of the Association of Municipalities of the Western Costa del Sol and deputy spokesperson of the Commission of Industry, Energy and Tourism of the Congress of Deputies, a law graduate and expert in Urban Planning, talks in this interview about golf and the supra-municipal entity she presides.
-This year (2013) tourism on the Costa del Sol has behaved almost as in the best years and golf is not being alien to this recovery. What short and medium term prospects does the Mancomunidad envisage for tourism in general and the golf segment in particular in this area?
Indeed, the performance of tourism this year has returned to the optimal levels of the mid-1990s, which is very encouraging and very good news for the 11 municipalities that make up this region in terms of economic recovery and employment.
Between June and September the Costa del Sol was visited by 5.2 million tourists, representing a growth of 6 percent over the same period in 2012, and a generation of wealth of almost 4.5 billion euros.
A fundamental factor in this positive balance was the 7 percent increase in international tourism, precisely the type of visitor who normally comes to see our wide range of golf offerings.
Therefore, expectations are very good for the coming months, especially because we are in a position to offer a very good destination not only in the summer, but also in the winter.
-The province of Malaga is above all a sun and beach destination, and golf is the main segment that breaks seasonality. What importance does the Mancomunidad attach to golf in its tourism promotion strategy?
-Golf is fundamental to break the seasonality in the Costa del Sol, it is one of the characteristics that makes our destination one hundred percent attractive all year round.
From the Mancomunidad we are committed to making this region a place that can be enjoyed all 12 months, which is why we have a strong emphasis on diversifying the offer.
To the sun and beach we must add golf, as a fundamental piece for the deseasonalization we are talking about, but also other elements such as cultural tourism, gastronomic, nautical or nature tourism.
There are many reasons to come to the Costa del Sol, but it is clear that golf and our good offer in this sense, makes us pioneers in Europe and in the most demanding international markets.
-The Costa del Sol is the number one destination for golf tourism in Europe. What do you think should be done to maintain this privileged position?
-It is essential that all the administrations involved in tourism and promotion get involved in golf, because it is an element that establishes us in tourism excellence.
And I am convinced that the increase in international visitors is closely linked to our offer in this sport, so it is a good way to keep us in this line of growth that brings us so many good things.
-The Costa del Sol is also a leader on the continent in the irrigation of golf courses with reclaimed water, and now, with the expansion of the La Víbora treatment plant in Marbella, the number of golf facilities that receive this supply will increase. How many courses are irrigated with recycled water?
-The public water company Acosol, which depends on the Mancomunidad, is making steady progress in the service it offers for irrigation with reclaimed water to 37 golf courses on the Western Costa del Sol.
The objective of the public company is to reach practically all these facilities and, to this end, it is promoting expansion works included in an agreement with Acuamed at the wastewater treatment plants of La Viper, in Marbella, and Cerros del Aguila, in Fuengirola. Both will provide an important boost to the golf segment.
To give you an idea, Acosol has supplied 4,359,975 cubic meters of reclaimed water up to September. The company supplies an average of 300,000 cubic meters of reclaimed water per year per golf course.
-Does this irrigation with recycled water, supplied by the public company Acosol, which depends on the Mancomunidad, in any way refute the criticisms of environmental groups about the high water consumption required by golf courses?
-I like to be very respectful of environmentalist claims in this regard, because I can’t answer for what other golf destinations do.
In the case of the Mancomunidad, we are very respectful in this respect and we have made great progress so that irrigation is done with reclaimed water, so that the impact on the environment is as minimal as possible.
It is clear that there is a different way of doing things and I am convinced that thanks to the challenges Acosol has set itself, we are breaking the mold and becoming a European benchmark in this type of measures.
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