A gathering of top UK golf travel trade and media converged on Foxhills Club and Resort to celebrate the island of Sicily launching an exciting new golf promotion in style this month.
Key figures from the leading golf tour operators joined an invited group of media, golf industry influencers and representatives from Sicily’s five golfing venues for the ‘Sicily Golf Day’ at the exclusive Surrey private members’ club.
After being treated over breakfast to a presentation on golf on the island, guests took to the course under cloudless skies to play 18 holes on Foxhills’ acclaimed Longcross Course before enjoying a Sicilian buffet, wine-tasting and prize-giving ceremony.
The day was part of a concerted PR and marketing campaign being organised by the Regione Siciliana and Italy Golf & More – the first pan-Italian international promotional golf project – to increase awareness, and future golf tourism traffic, from the UK and key European golfing markets to Sicily, and those attending believe the island has an exciting future as a golf destination.
Paul Cowgill, director of Driveline Golf, said: “The timing of the event was great as it coincided with a planned expansion of our portfolio to include Sicily in 2018 – so making contact with some of the key players was a great way to kick-start things.”
Kevin Rolfe, from Best in Travel magazine, added: “The day was a perfect combination of a great course, ideal conditions and a thoroughly well-organised event, and I very much enjoyed learning about the courses in Sicily.
“Having not played golf on the island, I can now see what I’ve been missing, and I’m aiming to rectify this over the coming months.”
Salvatore Leonardi, spokesman for the Sicilian Golf Consortium, said: “The event was a great success and the perfect way to highlight the many benefits of playing golf on our fantastic island.
“We are all very proud of our golf product in Sicily, and we’re tremendously excited at the prospect of welcoming a number of new markets to experience the many delights we have to offer, on and off the course.”
With a varied range of quality golf courses and temperate climate matched by a growing choice of direct flights to its four airports and a plethora of historical, cultural and gastronomic delights, Sicily has everything needed for an overseas golf break.
There are five golfing venues on the island featuring seven 18-hole courses: Verdura Resort (45 holes), Donnafugata Golf Resort & SPA (36 holes), Il Picciolo ETNA Golf Resort & SPA, Allegroitalia Siracusa Golf Monasteri and Le Saie Golf Club.
Golf is just one of an extensive number of activities that can be enjoyed in Sicily that makes the island, arguably, the top destination in the Mediterranean for golf, history, areas of natural beauty, art and gastronomy.
And flying to Sicily is getting far easier with the number of direct flights from the UK and Europe to its four main airports – Catania, Palermo, Trapani and Comiso – increasing every year.
Golf Clubs in Sicily:
Verdura Resort: +39 0925 998 180, www.roccofortehotels.com
Donnafugata Golf Resort & SPA: +39 932 914 200, www.donnafugatagolfresort.com
Il Picciolo ETNA Golf Resort & SPA: +39 0942 986384, www.ilpiccioloetnagolfresort.com
Allegroitalia Siracusa Golf Monasteri: +39 0931 941 470, www.allegroitalia.com
Le Saie Golf Club: +39 095 832 0291, www.lesaiegolfclub.it