The award-winning PGA Catalunya Resort, Spain’s official candidate host venue for The 2022 Ryder Cup, has announced a 15% rise in international visitors for the first half of 2015.
Between January and June, the European Golf Resort of the Year*, located just outside Girona and less than an hour’s drive from Barcelona, has enjoyed significant year-on-year increases in visitor numbers, driven by a 16% rise from the UK, a 7% increase from Switzerland and a 5% rise from both France and the Nordic countries.
A similar growth was seen at a domestic level, with 5% more Spanish golfers booking rounds to play the two critically-acclaimed Tour and Stadium courses, the latter ranked as Spain’s No.1 by influential golf course ratings website, www.top100golfcourses.co.uk
The European Tour Destination, which hosted the 2014 Open de España, is also witnessing a growing trend from golfers making direct bookings with the resort, underlined by a 31% year-on-year increase from the French market.
Commenting on the figures, Miguel Girbes, Director of Golf at PGA Catalunya Resort, said: “While the wider golf market has seen a trend in reducing green fees to attract new customers, PGA Catalunya Resort has grown its international market share thanks to the reputation of the Stadium Course, aligned to significant investment across all areas of the business.
“Staging the European Tour’s 2014 Open de España undoubtedly created an important platform for us to elevate the resort’s status as a world-class venue and boost our reputation among international golfers. Being named Spain’s official candidate host venue for The 2022 Ryder Cup has also helped raise our profile in Europe, and beyond.”
He added: “Our rental offerings have been very popular among visitors, with guests opting for either self-catered or fully catered stays in one of the resort’s villas or apartments. For 2015, we foresee a 10% increase on last year’s rental figures, reflected in a comparable rise in annual occupancy rates.”
Visitor numbers were also boosted by PGA Catalunya Resort’s appeal as a world-class practice facility for national teams. This year has already seen squads from Finland and Denmark using the resort’s extensive facilities, ahead of the start of the Winter Series on the Danish ECCO Tour.
* As voted by the International Association of Golf Tour Operators
PGA Catalunya Resort www.pgacatalunya.com