More than half a million foreign tourists come to our country each year with one clear idea mind: to play golf. Most of the visits take place during the months of March, April and October, which coincide with the least busy times in the classic sunshine and beach tourism segment. Golf tourism in Spain is in the middle of a process of expansion. A variety of factors explain this favorable situation, such as the pleasant climate, the substantial improvement in the quality of the facilities and the existence of a very interesting, complementary range of options.
Good examples of this are the Golf Resorts of Polaris World in the region of Murcia, Spain. Polaris World is a firm that has quickly become a leader in the tourism sector in the Region of Murcia. Another factor that has a positive effect is the growing enthusiasm for golf in Spain: by the end of 2005, the sport had grown like no other, with a total of 279,660 federated members and 308 golf courses, which in the case of Polaris World counts with the bonus of being designed by the best player of all times, Jack Nicklaus. Within the Spanish tourist sector, golf represents a turnover of € 2,300 million per year, which makes it an important source of income and employment and a tourist segment with its own characteristics. For example, golf attracts tourists with a high level of purchasing power, representing greater profits. In Europe, golf is the reason behind more than 1.6 million holidays every year and approximately 60% of those holidays are taken abroad. On this attractive market, Spain has an outstanding position with a market share of about 35% and a turnover of nearly 1,000 million euros far ahead of Portugal, which is in second position.
