Having just been officially presented, the new brand ‘Mijas, Sol y Golf’ is already traveling the world. The councillor for Tourism, José Carlos Martín and the councillor for Sports, Andrés Ruiz, have attended this week the International Golf Travel Market (IGTM) that was held in Wales from October 18th to 21st.

“We have come to present our new brand: Mijas,‘ Sol y Golf ’. This is an opportunity to show tour operators and potential tourists related to this sector all the top quality offers that they can find at our destination. We already have closed meetings with important professionals in this field and we intend to create the mark that we are seeking with this whole project, which is none other than if someone from any part of the world wants to play golf, the first thing they think about is Mijas”, Martin pointed out.

Both municipalities held meetings with representatives of golf federations from different locations, tour operators interested in southern Spain and, in the same way, with some of the Mijas owners who have attended the fair and with whom they have outlined the actions to be followed in the event to make the most of the presence of the new Mijas brand and, accordingly, the increase in visits to the destination. “This ‘branding’ represents all the courses in our municipality and it is the first time in Andalusia that businesspersons come together under the same identity sign in a city to, in a public-private collaboration effort, reinforce the destination and, among all, be able to position ourselves as what we are, an essential international benchmark of the highest quality for the practice of this sport”, stressed the councillor for Tourism.

A single image

“This is a firm path to put an end to seasonality because it is a sport that is practiced in low season, because of the sustainability that it implies by being integrated into nature and outdoors, the quality tourism that it generates with high-impact visitor profiles in the city as well as the media repercussion, as it is an activity with many international followers, without forgetting, obviously, the impact on the generation of employment and the revitalization of the economy”, added the councillor.

Nature, sport and golf are three of the seven promoted segments in the city that are included in this project, which is, at the same time, attractive for post-pandemic visitors. “Outdoor sport is one of the most demanded activities in our city that has experienced an increase after the Covid pandemic since many people prefer it to being in closed places. Golf is the third sport in Spain in terms of the number of federated and perfectly mixes physical exercise with nature and, in the same way, it entails a boost for sports tourism that we promote so much from the government team and that has given us such good results”, said Ruiz, who added: “the path to be followed by the local administration does not stop only with external promotion but also municipal, given that among the plans of the Local Government in the medium term is the creation of a ‘Municipal Golf School’ to promote the sport among residents”.

Woman's golf

During their stay at the IGTM, the councillors also held a meeting with the owner of the company ‘Ladies on Tour’, Anita Larkin, specialised in organising trips for groups of senior women (over 55) to play golf in the best destinations in Europe.

“Obviously if we talk about quality in golf courses we are talking about Mijas and we have to be on the map for these players. Senior women’s golf is increasingly in vogue and our destination is an essential place for all of them to enjoy, not only this sport, but all the advantages that the municipality offers in terms of tourism, leisure, culture and rest”, pointed out Martín, who added that “last year this company arranged trips for more than 15 groups with an average of 20 people each to golf courses in Spain and Portugal”.

On the other hand, Ruiz pointed out that “once the gender barriers that made these women not practice golf have been broken down, we find more and more women players and with higher levels all the time”.

In this way, Mijas is presented as an attractive destination for all types of public in this international fair where, in addition, the capacity for tourism adaptation is presented depending on the interests of each sportsperson.
“Age groups, the way of traveling, or the experiences that the visitor wants to live are not an issue, because we have such a wide tourist offer that, as is commonly said, we have something for everyone”. “Gastronomy, sports, sun and beach, heritage, nature and a long etcetera are included on the business card that accompanies our golf brand and promotes the quality of our courses, that are reaping so much success at this forum”, assured Martín.

The new logo

The Local Council has presented in Wales the new brand: ‘Mijas, Sol y Golf’ which represents the twelve courses of the city en in a public-private collaboration to promote this segment and the tourist destination. The new logo boasts an artistic style that reflects all the differentiating elements of the brand in abstract lines.

The good climate, the union of the golf courses and the location next to the sea and the mountains are reflected in a colourful way, using tones similar to those used by the Town Hall itself, which is why it is integrated into the idiosyncrasy of the municipality. It has been the businesspersons of the sector together with the Department for Tourism who have chosen the slogan and the design among the proposals presented in the midst of the periodic meetings that the local administration holds with these businesses to work together on the ‘Golf Marketing Plan’ drawn up by the University of Malaga to, precisely, relaunch the destination focused on this sport.

The fair

The International Golf Travel Market (IGTM) is one of the main events for those interested in golf tourism.

Every year, hundreds of tourism service providers from the golf sector come together at this fair, where the latest opportunities and offers updates from the golf industry are exhibited. Every year the IGTM is held in a different place. This 2021, the exhibition has been organsied in the city of Newport, Wales, from October 18th to 21st.

Pre-scheduled meetings are the heart of the IGTM, providing golf destinations, resorts and courses the opportunity to connect with leading golf travel agents and tour operators helping to increase the world’s outbound tourism market. Up to 1,300 golf travel professionals regularly attend IGTM, making it the largest meeting point for the industry worldwide, some attending for the first time and many who have never missed an event since its launch in 1998.

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