“WE DO NOT RULE OUT THE POSSIBILITY OF FINCA CORTESÍN HOSTING THE VOLVO WORLD MATCH PLAY AGAIN”.
Finca Cortesin could host a new edition of the Volvo World Match Play Championship, the first edition of the world-class tournament that has been held three times in this spectacular Costa del Sol resort. Its president, Vicente Rubio, assures that it is an ideal competition, for its quality and format, to be held at Finca Cortesín. Nor does it rule out the celebration of another major tournament of the highest international level.
Vicente Rubio is satisfied with how the resort has overcome the 2012 financial year. “It has been a good year for Finca Cortesín in general,” he says. “Despite the current delicate economic situation, we have grown in the number of clients and turnover during 2012, which is very positive. We have also increased our average prices both in the hotel and in golf, which is our main objective to continue positioning our Finca Cortesín brand as a benchmark for hospitality, quality and service on the Costa del Sol and in Spain.”
-Could we say that the philosophy of Finca Cortesín has not changed in the years since it opened?
-After six years of golf operation and four years of hotel operation, we are sure that offering our clients the highest quality of facilities and service is the right formula to differentiate ourselves from the rest and reach the objectives set by the company. Our philosophy has been the same from the beginning and we are convinced that it works, and the results are there. We have probably one of the best resorts in Europe with a service that is difficult to match.
At the golf course we take the utmost care in the maintenance of the course, a fundamental part of our success, and of course we offer a customer service that is a pioneer in Spain and has already been imitated and copied by many, which gives us great satisfaction. At Finca Cortesin we do not sell rooms and green fees, we sell an experience that is unique and that our clients remember for a long time, and this makes them want to come back again and again. We have a very high rate of repeaters which tells us that we are doing things right and we are on the right track. It’s a perfect combination for the most demanding customers.
-Last year was the last Volvo World Match Play tournament at Finca Cortesín. What is your assessment of this tournament and how has it affected your resort?
The celebration of the Volvo World Match Play 2012 was for us a great success considering that it was the only tournament of great level that was held in Spain with a lineup of world-class players. This is even more valuable considering that in 2012 several tournaments on the European Tour calendar to be held in Spain were suspended.
All editions of the Volvo WMPC held at Finca Cortesin have lacked any institutional support, which has been a disappointment for us, and after this last edition, a major handicap when negotiating a new contract. The tournament will be held this year in Bulgaria, thanks to the great support received from the Bulgarian government, which will provide three million euros to hold this prestigious tournament in their country. With more institutional support, it is quite possible that this great tournament could have been held in Finca Cortesín. It should be noted that unfortunately Spain will only host one European Tour tournament in 2013 out of the seven that were planned in 2012, and this is bad news for golf and tourism in Spain.
As an overall assessment of these three years, holding a tournament of this category at Finca Cortesín has helped us to position our resort in the golf and tourism industry in a fast and effective way worldwide. It has also been an enriching experience, which has helped us to improve the course significantly, establishing it at the level of the best courses in Europe in terms of maintenance and design.
Is Finca Cortesin planning to bring back a world-class tournament?
-As I have said many times, holding a major tournament has helped in a very positive way to create and position the Finca Cortesín brand. Our idea is to bring in the not too distant future a world-class tournament that fits our profile and work philosophy. We do not rule out holding the Volvo WMPC again in the future in its new format with an itinerant venue, but for this we must see how this tournament develops in the next editions. We believe it is an ideal tournament to hold in our resort due to its format and quality.
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