The Costa Daurada, ‘Spain’s Golden Coast’, regarded as the hidden gem of Spanish golf, has completed another successful year with a record number of golfers flooding to the region to enjoy the complete Mediterranean experience. With its breath-taking championship golf courses, idyllic beaches and cultural delights, Costa Daurada has become even more popular than ever, with its golden sands and UNESCO World Heritage sites a particular delight all year round.
Home to seven championship golf courses including: Lumine Mediterránea Beach & Golf Community, Bonmont Golf Club, and Golf Costa Daurada, Costa Daurada has enjoyed a fantastic year with approximately 80,000 rounds of golf being played in the year throughout the region. The world-class layout at Lumine Mediterránea Beach & Golf Community headlined the summer of golf in the region with it once again playing host to the annual European Tour Qualifying School Final Stage. As well as this, Bonmont Golf Club hosted the second stage of the European Tour Qualifying school. The region is constantly improving and has seen an increase in results compared to the previous year.
It wasn’t just for golf that people came to Costa Daurada this year, with other cultural events taking centre stage and attracting over 5 million visitors. Visitors were treated to a unique calendar of local festivals and traditions, including the annual Human Towers festival, a Catalonian culture where participants compete with the aim of building the highest and largest human tower. Other festivals throughout the year included; The Medieval week in Montblanc that had its medieval market and representation of St George, Cambrils Music Festival, Costa Daurada’s wine and food shows and the visit of the wineries in Priorat and Montsant.
Costa Daurada is only 45 minutes away from the Catalonian capital of Barcelona, which is rated as one of TripAdvisor’s Top 5 European Cities and underlines the appeal of the sun-soaked region. The coastline of Costa Daurada stretches along for another 81km south of Barcelona with many opportunities available to relax and enjoy the golden sandy beaches.
Visitors to the region this year will have been particularly pleased with its mixture of long golden beaches and crystal-clear waters, as well as the ample amount of ancient history such as the Roman ruins in Tarragona, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, that is available to view. It is no surprise that this year the Costa Daurada has become one of the most popular and sought-after retreats in Europe not only golfers, but for types of visitors.
Marta Farrero, Costa Daurada Tourist Board Director, said: “We are extremely pleased with how 2019 has gone for the region. Year-on-year we have seen an increase in the number of visitors visiting the region and this year was no different. With six wine regions, UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and golden sandy beaches, it is no surprise that Costa Daurada is a very attractive region for visitors all year round. We are looking forward to getting started in 2020, and offering visitors even more opportunities to visit the region, with more events and activities planned, and host world-class events such as The European Tour Qualifying School at Lumine Mediterránea Beach & Golf Community and Bonmont Golf Club”.
Costa Daurada’s continuing development is in no doubt down to the hard work put in to finding new ways to increase the region’s popularity and maintain its reputation as one of the fastest growing regions in Europe, with both local and foreign tourists. At this year’s International Golf Travel Market in Marrakech, Morocco, Costa Daurada held over 40 meetings with tour operators from all over the world. The number of meetings showed off the popularity and demand that Costa Daurada is creating in the public, as well as highlighting their ability to create new relationships with tour operators. Overall, they met with operators from over 16 countries in an effort to create new links to the region and showcase the diversity and unity that the region offers.
The International Golf Travel Market is the only global gathering of industry travel professionals and offers golf destinations, resorts and courses the opportunity to showcase their products to highly qualified tour operators.
2019 has been another fantastic year for Costa Daurada with even more visitors being attracted to the region and 2020 will surely be no different with more attractions, events and golfing packages planned to delight tourists from all over the world.
Costa Daurada www.costadaurada.info
Pictured top: View overlooking Golf Costa Daurada