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With an economic impact of close to 1,500 million – before the pandemic – golf tourism has been one of the main strongholds of the sector in a Costa del Sol destination that trusts in being able to start the path of recovery to once again receive that profile of an eminently foreign visitor from the second semester. Not surprisingly, in 2019 this sport counted a total of 18,494 federated players, half a thousand more than in the previous year, attracted by the varied offer of golf courses available to the province of Malaga, which receives a direct economic benefit of about 760 million, in addition to another 650 million indirect, thanks to the high average expenditure in the destination.
These are data taken from recent studies by the public company Tourism and Planning of the Costa del Sol, dependent on the Diputación de Málaga, which reveal that the aforementioned economic figures translate into the creation of 17,700 jobs. Of that amount, 10,580 are direct jobs and the rest, 7,100, indirect. With an average of half a million golf tourists who choose the so-called “Costa del Golf” for their vacations, its high purchasing power stands out, translated into an average expenditure for each trip of 1,827.29 euros, which represents an average daily expenditure , including transportation, accommodation and spending on the golf course of 148.46 euros per day. The Golf Coast offers from the eastern part of Malaga to the western border with Cádiz a total of 69 facilities with a total of 1,134 holes distributed in 16 municipalities. Regarding Andalusia, it brings together 67% of its golf courses or, what is the same, more than two out of three courses, which shows the great strength to improve competitiveness.
Global figures
From the analysis of the distribution of registered golf players throughout the European continent, it can be stated that two out of three are men, a quarter are women, and almost a tenth of fans of this practice are Juniors. The number of registered golf players in Europe amounts to about 4,142,000
The top 15 countries in Europe by number of registered Golf players are: England, Germany, Sweden, France, Holland, Spain, Scotland, Ireland, Denmark, Finland, Austria, Norway, Italy, Switzerland and the Czech Republic. Not surprisingly, England and Germany are the countries in which there are more golf players, in both cases exceeding 640,000 registered players.
For Margarita del Cid, CEO of Tourism and Planning of the Costa del Sol, «historically the golf tourist has contributed to breaking the seasonality in the tourist destination, and has made it possible to maintain the volume of business especially during the months of winter “. That is why the importance of this segment and we hope that in the second half of 2021 the recovery of this tourist profile will become a reality.” Not in vain, this situation will be “key” to show that the aforementioned recovery is beginning “and consequently to be able to begin to make up for everything that we have lost since the pandemic began.”
Del Cid emphasizes that “the British tourist who has traditionally visited the Costa del Sol, attracted by the offer and equipment for practicing sport, is a loyal tourist and despite the conditions he will continue to bet, surely, on our destination. ”.
In this regard, the also vice-president of the Malaga Provincial Council emphasizes that “given that important degree of loyalty in which we have never stopped working, we will continue to implement all possible efforts to maintain or increase it, aware of the important economic impact generated by its visit in our province ”.
Asked about the effects that Brexit may have on the arrival of that profile of tourists to the Costa del Sol, she trusted that “given that loyalty to which she alluded previously, we trust that Brexit does not imply any rupture or impediment to continue visiting us, and I am convinced that this will be the case given how attracted they are to fate ”.
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