Meeting with professionals of the segment and BAHIATURSA outlines a plan to golf
Representatives of golf in Brazil, notably from Bahia, met to discuss joint actions to attract tourists, and promote and support events in that segment. The meeting, held last August, was attended by the president of Costa do Sauípe, Alexandre Zubaran; directors of the Golf Travel (a travel agency specialized in the sport), Fábio Mazza and Celso Teixeira; the president of Bahia’s Golf Federation, Luis Cingolane; besides Michael Nagy, from the Golf Corporate Brasil. The meeting was held with the president of Bahiatursa, Emília Salvador Silva, and the institution’s directors, Rosana França and Paulo Guaranys.
The meeting aimed at outlining a joint action plan to be developed by the private initiative and the government, so that the segment attracts more golf tourists to Bahia – the region that concentrates the highest number of golf courses and lovers in Brazil. The meeting approached topics such as the advantages in the low season, fees, quality of the courses and investments in the sector. According to data from the Brazilian Golf Confederation and Embratur, the sport turns over about R$ 400 million a year in Brazil, and around 25 thousand persons play golf in the country,
The constructing of 10 golf courses in hotel and real estate undertakings on the northern coast of Bahia is scheduled to take place until 2010. The president of BAHIATURSA, Emília Salvador Silva, emphasized that Bahiatursa and the Tourism Secretariat are strong partners in the golf promotion, participating in important events, and in the production, dissemination and distribution of material about the segment. One of the competitive edges of Bahia, compared to Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, are the breathtaking landscapes of beach, sun and coconut groves that surround the lawn. The proximity of the courses is an additional attraction, since golfers can try more than one golf course in one trip. According to a survey by the International Association of Golf Tourism Operators (IAGTO), the average is 3.5 courses per trip.