“With the final quarter of 2023 just around the corner, now is the time to reflect on decisions made, analyse results achieved and strategically plan for the year ahead,” stated Ian Knox, Head of European Tour Destinations. In his view, areas that will provide profitable opportunities in 2024 and beyond centre around sales and marketing and achieving operational excellence. “It is crucial to develop robust strategies that leverage these areas to drive growth and customer satisfaction,” he continued, identifying three critical strategic objectives, he believes, will help venues stay competitive in 2024 and beyond: Embracing data and technology in Sales and Marketing To maximise sales and marketing efforts, venues need to embrace technology and adapt their strategies accordingly. Key steps to consider include: Data-Driven Decision Making: Data is the new currency. Venues should use – or indeed invest in – tools that will allow them to gain valuable insights about their target audiences, markets and their preferences. Leveraging this data to optimise marketing campaigns, tailor product offerings, and anticipate customer needs will be valuable in what is becoming a crowded marketplace. Omnichannel Marketing: Nowadays, customers expect a seamless experience across different channels – and 2024 will be no different. Therefore, creating an omnichannel marketing strategy that ensures consistency and delivers a unified brand message across various touchpoints – from social media, the website and customer communications, all the way through to when customers arrive on-site. 2. Prioritising exceptional customer service Great customer service is the cornerstone of a successful business. In 2024, customer expectations will continue to rise, making it imperative for venues to go above and beyond. Here’s how: Investing in personalisation: Personalised experiences build strong customer relationships. Leveraging data and customer insights to create tailored experiences, recommending relevant products and services, and providing proactive support will set venues apart from their competitors. Using customer relationship management (CRM) software to ensure a holistic view of each customer’s journey will prove vital. Creating a customer-centric culture: Training and empowering employees to prioritise customer satisfaction, as well as rewarding exceptional service will help fostering an organisation-wide customer-centric mindset. This could also lead to staff seeking ways to continuously improve customer experiences, which, in turn will help drive customer loyalty and positive word-of-mouth. 3. Fostering partnerships and collaboration In the interconnected world of 2024, collaboration and partnerships will be key to success. The premise of the European Tour Destination network is to enable member venue to connect and share learnings and best practices, as well as form strategic alliances among one another – which recently extended to accessing the PGA TOUR’s TPC network venues. However, in addition to these, venues should consider: Strategic alliances: Identifying other potential partners with complementary products or services that can enhance a venue’s offering, collaborating to achieve mutual growth and potentially accessing new customer segments. Customer feedback loop: Venues should actively seek feedback from their customers and incorporate it into their service development and improvement process. Engaging customers and making them feel heard helps build a sense

Leading the way has been Spain’s No.1 Golf Resort, Camiral Golf & Wellness, whose commitment to environmental responsibility spans across sustainable golf course management, efficient resort operations and a series of energy-saving actions. We caught up with CEO David Plana to understand how the European Tour Destination, one hour north of Barcelona, has managed to reduce its energy consumption by 50% and, while offsetting its carbon footprint and preserving its green infrastructure: Solar Energy “A recent and significant investment at Camiral Golf & Wellness was the on-site, 900m2 photovoltaic power station with 316 solar panels that were installed on Hotel Camiral’s roof, enabling the resort to generate 210,772 KW of green energy to power both the hotel and Wellness Centre. “This is a first in many important steps we are taking to become self-sufficient and eventually rely almost entirely on energy generated on site, rather than energy sourced externally.” Cutting Carbon “Our solar power project is enabling us to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 51 tonnes per year, while the state-of-the-art air conditioning units we implemented in 2022 at our five-star Hotel Camiral and in our 1,000m² Wellness Centre, have resulted in a decrease in CO2 of 311 tonnes.” Zero-Kilometre Produce “In alignment with the growing interest in zero-kilometre food, the resort cultivates its own organic produce in our on-site kitchen garden to sell at the resort shop and harvested  for our residents.” 100% Recycled Water “Camiral Golf & Wellness recycles 100% of its water. We irrigate the golf courses and green spaces using recycled water that is treated and purified, derived from both nearby towns and the complex’s own buildings. “This was one of the first proactive measures to minimise our environmental impact we implemented across the resort since our opening in 1999.” Championing biodiversity “Since 2015, our in-house biologist has been nurturing the resort’s local biodiversity thanks to mosaic landscaping, ecological rewilding and a maintenance programme that is akin to that of a natural sanctuary, aligning us more with the policies established in the European Green Deal and the EU biodiversity strategy 2020-2030.” Sustainable Business Strategy “Sustainability is not just a short-term strategic objective; it’s part of Camiral Golf & Wellness’ culture and at the heart of everything we do. “We believe sustainable practices can coexist with luxury and leisure and that golf destinations that embrace this long-term ethos will not only help the environment, but earn the respect of their staff and support of their customers.” As resorts like Camiral Golf & Wellness lead the charge towards a greener golfing future, venues across the European Tour Destination network are committing to environmental responsibility and finding innovative ways to reduce their own carbon footprints. Find out their stories in the multi-media feature: “A sustainable future for golf”.  

All roads lead to Rome for the 24 players involved in The 2023 Ryder Cup – and for the tens of thousands of fans who are expected to head to Marco Simone Golf & Country Club once the biggest event in golf reaches its dramatic conclusion.  The Eternal City is already high on the bucket list for travellers worldwide, thanks to its rich history, beautiful architecture and incredible food, and is now adding ‘top golf destination’ to its list of attributes. Riccardo Tirotti, Business Development Manager at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club, said: “We are receiving visitors from a much wider market base now, with more interest from golfers in North America and Asia than ever before. “Establishing Rome as a golf destination has been one of the main focuses for Italy since bidding to host The Ryder Cup – and with more than 20 per cent of our visitors coming from North America now, I believe we are well on our way to achieving our goal.” According to Riccardo, in the years leading up to the historic biennial match, the forecast for golf travellers visiting the venue from outside Europe was “very high”, with the figure expected to increase further still after the match. He said: “It’s not evident for travellers to make the connection between Marco Simone and the city of Rome. However, during The Ryder Cup, people from all over the world, including North America’s 25 million golfers, will see broadcasted images of our Clubhouse with St Peter’s Basilica in the background and then the link will be cemented.” To reinforce that connection, Riccardo has been working alongside hotels and tourism networks in and around Rome to create packages for golf travellers to be able to play at Marco Simone and visit the city in the same trip. He continued: “The added value of a golf experience here, is the city of Rome itself and everything it has to offer. We’re not just trying to promote Marco Simone and its golf course, we’ve been conscious to promote the destination as a whole, including its churches, history, architecture, food and wine – everything Rome is known for. “Close to the course, we also have three UNESCO World Heritage sites, which is unique. There’s a lot to offer people looking to combine golf with a historical city break.” Riccardo’s mission has been well supported by European Tour Destinations, which has helped the former members’ club to become a fully-fledged commercial venue, and by his counterparts at the network’s member venues, not least of which those at Le Golf National, host of The 2018 Ryder Cup, and only the second venue in Continental Europe to welcome golf’s coveted biennial match. “It has been very useful speaking with our French colleagues from Le Golf National. The 44th edition is the first Ryder Cup to be held in Italy, so there’s no benchmark for us, which has made things like defining an adequate price policy very difficult. Therefore, having the opportunity