The Algarve is the most “popular and desirable” overseas golf destination for UK golfers, according to a new survey based on answers provided by readers of the Today’s Golfer and Golf World magazines.
Readers were asked where they had been on a golf holiday in the past 12 months, with 37% of them answering the Algarve – almost 10% more than any other destination.
The results were even more conclusive when they were asked which golf destination they intended to visit in the next year, with 60% choosing the Algarve as their number one choice.
“It is fantastic news for the Algarve golf industry to receive this recognition and be so highly-regarded by the readers of Today’s Golfer and Golf World,” said Maria Delgado e Silva, the golf product manager for the Algarve Tourism Association (ATA).
“It is always a pleasure to welcome our friends from Britain and we hope many more will choose to visit us in the future to enjoy our wonderful golf courses and the Algarve hospitality,” she added.
The news comes the same year that the Algarve is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the opening of the region’s first golf course – Henry Cotton’s Championship course at Penina Golf Resort in Portimão.
Quinta do Lago also celebrated the 42nd anniversary of its first golf course on Tuesday (November 1), a milestone that was commended by the resort’s founder André Jordan.
The man often dubbed as “the father of Algarve tourism” stressed how far the region has come as a golf destination, having just recently hosted another successful edition of the Portugal Masters.
“The four days of the Masters brought nearly 40,000 people to the Victoria golf course and were followed by hundreds of thousands of people on TV in 80 countries,” Jordan said.
He added that the “huge success” of the golf tournament shows how important it is to host quality events in the Algarve, especially in terms of promoting the region as an attractive destination.
