The Andalusian Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sports, Arturo Bernal, measured this Wednesday at more than 500 million euros the economic impact. direct and indirect and image of the Solheim Golf Cup, which will be held from September 18 to 24 in Casares (Málaga).
During a visit to the Finca Cortesín field, venue for the competition that will pit the women’s teams from the United States against Europe, Bernal told reporters that the Solheim Cup is “a big event” that will position Andalusia “again as a point of reference “in the world of golf.
In addition, he predicted that this tournament “will form a new icon: Finca Cortesín, just like Valderrama”which in 1997 hosted the Ryder Cup, the men’s competition that takes place in the US and Europe every two years and “still continues to generate positive effects” on the destination’s brand and reputation.
With more than a hundred courses, “Andalusia is, without a doubt, the home of golf in Europe”insisted the head of Tourism, who recalled that 80% of them are in the so-called ‘Golf Coast’, located between Malaga and Cádiz.
The facilities of Finca Cortesín are “in perfect condition”, assured Bernal, acknowledging the “effort” that this complex is making to host Solheim.
A total of 82,000 tickets have been sold to date for this event and half of these have been purchased from the UK and Ireland.20% from Spain, another 20% from the rest of the European Union, and about 6% from the US, when the average from the latter is 2-3% in competitions held outside of country, he detailed.
This is an “interesting distribution” for the Board’s internationalization strategy in the golf segment, said Bernal.
The media impact of the Solheim Cup was initially estimated by some consultants at around 20 to 25 million euros.grew to 150 million a year ago, and “in the latest reports they have put it at 200 million”, to which are added about 300 million of the direct and indirect economic impact of the test.
“In global terms, Solheim will have a direct and indirect economic impact, and image, of more than 500 million euros.“, he specified.
The 24 best European players will be present at the competition. In this regard, the advisor said that the Spanish team has Carlota Ciganda and hopes to add a second Andalusian player, depending on how he is positioned in these weeks, especially in the British Open.
He also emphasized the “positive implications” that golf has from a tourist perspectivebecause it attracts tourists with an average stay of 11 days and an average daily cost of between 180 and 200 euros per person.
Golf attracts almost a million players a year in Andalusia and generates revenue between 1,800 and 2,200 million euros.
“This is a sector that has evolved a lot in one of the most critical elements, which is sustainability“, refers to Bernal, who assures that “no golf course in Andalusia is irrigated with drinking water.”
Currently, 80% of fields are irrigated with reclaimed water, and those that do not have the possibility to do so because “the facilities that the Spanish Government must prepare are not yet finished”, are irrigated with non-potable water, he hinted.
Source: La Verdad
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