Turismo Costa del Sol maintains an intense agenda of meetings in the Florida professional days of the International Association of Golf Tour Operators (IAGTO), an entity that counts among its members the main tour operators and tourism professionals in the golf segment worldwide.
Margarita del Cid has highlighted the opportunity that the celebration in the Costa del Sol of the Solheim Cup, the most prestigious women’s golf tournament in the world, to make visible the excellent conditions of the destination in terms of golf and the quality of the complementary offer.
Monday, June 26, 2023
As part of the intense golf promotion program being carried out by Turismo Costa del Sol, the entity has participated, along with Turismo Andaluz, in the professional conference that the International Association of Golf Tour Operators (IAGTO) has held in Tampa (Florida). Margarita del Cid, acting CEO of Turismo Costa del Sol has highlighted the participation in this event “one of the most important in the golf segment and that allows to promote the destination among professionals in the sector, in a key year for our destination with the celebration on the Costa del Sol of the Solheim Cup tournament in September in which the forces of women’s teams from the United States and Europe will be measured”.
IAGTO, the leading international golf tourism organization, counts among its members more than 2,400 accredited golf tour operators, as well as golf resorts, hotels, courses, airlines and tourist offices, among others. IAGTO operators control more than 90% of the golf vacation packages sold worldwide and have an annual turnover of more than 2.5 billion euros. IAGTO also organizes the international fair Golf Travel Market-IGTM, which has been held three times on the Costa del Sol.
Turismo Costa del Sol has participated in this edition of the North America Convention of IAGTO (NAC 2023) with a delegation of businessmen from Malaga, with the aim of establishing new contacts and give visibility to the resources and innovations that the so-called Costa del Golf has for this segment. Margarita del Cid has been pleased by the interest generated among U.S. tour operators to create new experiences around the destination of Costa del Sol and as noted, “in these days there has been much interest in the supply of the Costa del Sol, as we have expressed in the thirty meetings that have been held with tour operators from the United States, Canada and Latin America.
In this sense, Del Cid has highlighted the opportunity provided by this type of event to “establish new contacts and investigate the opportunities that exist for the promotion and marketing of the destination in international markets with high purchasing power, especially now, when the direct air connection between Malaga and New York has been reopened”. In a context, moreover, in which, according to data from the latest tourism bulletin, from January to April, there has been an increase of almost 20% in the number of Americans staying in hotels and apartments on the Costa del Sol. Del Cid added that contact with tourism professionals allows “listen to the market and take the opportunity to assess the current situation, the forecasts for booking accommodation and golf packages on the Costa del Sol, in a key year, a few months before the Solheim Cup is held.
Likewise, Margarita del Cid has underlined the entity’s commitment to this segment because “its seasonal power is unquestionable and the level of expenditure of these tourists is higher than that of the average visitor. The great economic contribution that this type of visitor brings to the tourism industry of the province is undeniable, due to its high purchasing power, and the high qualification that golf tourists give us, as well as their high degree of loyalty. 98.7% recommend the Costa del Golf destination”. Del Cid also highlighted the strategic value of this segment for the Costa del Sol destination, “as it generates about 1,400 million economic impact and more than 17,000 jobs in the province of Malaga”.
Therefore, Margarita del Cid has not hesitated to point out the opportunity for Costa del Sol to host the next edition of the Solheim Cup, which will be held for the first time in Spain and will bring together in Finca Cortesin the leading figures of women’s golf internationally. The acting CEO of Costa del Sol Tourism has pointed out that “this is the most prestigious golf tournament in the world and will be a unique opportunity to strengthen the positioning of Costa del Sol as a destination with high-level services, which offers the possibility to enjoy our renowned hospitality, our heritage and our climate throughout the year”.
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