The Costa del Sol candidate for host of the Solheim Cup 2023
This morning it was announced at the World Travel Market that the Costa del Sol has submitted its candidacy to host the Solheim Cup of 2023. It would be the first time it was held in Spain since its creation in 1990 and the fourth time that the competition was hosted in a European country far from the British Isles.
In order for the Costa del Sol to host the Solheim Cup, a highly competitive golf course is required, with certain measures of length, breadth, maintenance, equipment and machinery. In addition, another requirement is that these golf courses have spacious areas for the location of stands and hospitality tents as it is a global event that brings together thousands of golf fans during the days of the competition. Likewise, other requirements need to be met, such as extensive access to their facilities, evacuation plans, parking areas available and transfers necessary for the mobility of the players and the attendees of the event.
“This is a historic opportunity that would turn the Costa del Sol into a mecca for women’s golf for years as the Solheim Cup celebration has been paired with the Women’s Open in Spain in the years before and after. The Costa del Sol meets all the necessary technical and tourist infrastructure requirements to host a worldwide sporting event, it is a destination that stands out for having a quality hotel offer since more than half of the hotel beds are four, five and five stars great luxury as well as excellent communications of highways, highways or the AVE adds the wide range of connectivity of the international airport of Malaga that has connections with more than one hundred and twenty of the main cities of the world “, indicates Elías Bendodo, president of Tourism Costa del Sol.
Bendodo, after the meeting with Mark Lichtenhein, Chairman of the Ladies European Tour (LET), which was also attended by the president of the Commonwealth of Municipalities of the Costa del Sol, Margarita del Cid, the mayor of Benahavis, José Antonio Mena , and the mayor of Marbella, Ángeles Muñoz, highlighted the dual importance that the Costa del Sol would be the seat of the Solheim Cup in 2003, ensuring that it would be a unique opportunity to disseminate throughout the world the tourist attraction for the entire Malaga province and would also serve to strengthen our commitment to promote women’s golf, a field in which we have been working for years with the Royal Andalusian Golf Federation.
The president of Tourism Costa del Sol has also acknowledged the impact for golf tourism, one of the most important segments of the offer in the province, which has more than seventy golf courses.
Although there are not many studies on the direct economic impact of the Solheim Cup, the promoters consider that it would be an invaluable tool to attract the American tourist, a market in which the Costa del Sol still has a lot of room for growth. Golf tourism in the province is led by players from the United Kingdom, followed by Scandinavia, Norway, France and Germany and is a strategic tourist profile due to the fact that their average expenditure for their trip is 1,827.29 euros, which means an average daily cost, including transportation, accommodation and spending on the golf course of 148.46 euros per day, much higher than other profiles of tourists.