Luxury hotel occupancy rates exceed 60%; Greater numbers of European travellers choose Costa Brava; France, UK, The Netherlands and Germany are key visitor markets.
GIRONA, SPAIN – The growing popularity of Costa Brava, the award-winning golf destination in northeast Spain, has been underlined in a new report which reveals luxury hotel occupancy grew 1.7% in 2014 to an average of 60.6%.
Published by the Costa Brava Luxury Hotels Association, the findings also illustrate how the demand for hotel rooms is underpinned by European travellers, who account for 47% of total hotel occupancy rates.
The increase supports the recent announcement that the wider Catalunya region received a 7.2% increase in foreign visitors in 2014, with 16.7 million international tourists visiting the area.
Given the region’s proximity to France, the number of French travellers was naturally high, accounting for 23.7% of the total hotel occupancy, while 8.1% were from the UK, 4.6% from The Netherlands and 4.4% from Germany.
Hotel Golf Peralada.
Ramón Ramos, Director of the Costa Brava Girona Tourist Board, said: “Costa Brava is an attractive holiday destination for a broad spectrum of travellers given its diverse culture and landscape and it is rewarding to see local businesses succeeding on the strength of this.”
Major attractions to the region include PGA Catalunya Resort, critically acclaimed as the country’s number one golf course – one of nine across Costa Brava – and The 2014 Open de España host venue.
PGA Catalunya Resort is currently supporting the Real Federación Española (RFEG) de Golf’s bid to bring The 2022 Ryder Cup to Catalunya.
One of the region’s most popular attractions is the former home of surrealist artist, Salvador Dalí, which has become one of a trio of locations in Costa Brava dedicated to his work where art-lovers can pay homage to the famous painter.
In addition, 220kms of dramatic coastline featuring countless beaches and intimate coves are a draw for holidaymakers and watersports enthusiasts, while, inland, attractions also include the region’s world-class gastronomy – one of the top rated restaurants in the world, El Celler de Can Roca, is located in the picturesque city of Girona.
The region’s rich wine history, dating back to 500 BC, is also popular with tourists. The recently launched DO Empordà Wine Route, which maps out the best of Costa Brava’s wine culture, allows visitors to experience and sample the delights of one of the oldest wine-producing counties in the world, while the annual Vivid festival (vivid.costabrava.org), which takes place in April and includes a multitude of wine-related festivities and events such as tastings, workshops, cooking sessions and tours, has become a key date in wine connoisseurs and oenology enthusiasts’ calendars.
Photo Caption: Castell D’Emporda.
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