Constance Lemuria, Seychelles and Constance Belle Mare Plage, Mauritius As island resorts in the Indian Ocean, Constance Hotels & Resorts has a dedicated Sustainability Manager who is supporting many of the sustainable initiatives at each resort including replacing single-use plastics in favour of refillable drinking water bottles. Some of the other initiatives at the Constance Hotels & Resorts include: encouraging and supporting clean up of the marine and costal environments, coral planting, organic fertilisers and local produce to each resort. Camiral Golf & Wellness, Spain Both Camiral’s Wellness Centre and Hotel Camiral have reduced their energy consumption by 50% with an on-site power station and solar panels that help cut more than 362 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year. Recycled water that is treated and purified is used to irrigate both golf courses and green areas around the resort. Camiral’s zero-kilometre food movement – grows natural produce on-site to use within its restaurants, sell as its shops and harvest by its residents. Costa Navarino, Greece At the heart of Costa Navarino strategies lies a strong commitment to sustainability with 90% of the estate’s total land area has been dedicated to planted and natural greenery, which includes the replanting of more than 7,000 olive trees, 9,900 new indigenous trees, and more than 1,089,00 endemic shrubs of different species. Since 2020, Costa Navarino has partnered with WWF Greece with the aim to reduce single-use plastics across the resort and its operations. Arabella Golf Resort Mallorca, Spain The courses are Arabella Golf Resort Malloca are a prime example of how to preserve the natural environment, plants and wildlife present at each golf course, demonstrated through their multiple sustainable actions. The resort also uses recycled water for irrigation, replaced single use plastic bottles with water fountains, implemented solar panels to help generate clubhouse electricity, use of hybrid machinery, use of organic phytosanitary products, and opening a vegetable garden who produce is used across their restaurants. Terre Blanche Hotel Spa Golf Resort, France Terre Blanche has developed a natural sanctuary of 300 hectares where wildlife, flora and fauna can prosper. They have set up a programme to reintroduce endemic species such as swans, geese, koi carp, and black bass. At the heart of the resort Terre Blanche have built an aromatic vegetable garden, which offers around 15 aromatic plants used by the resort’s chefs.

Formerly known as Genzon Golf Club, the European Tour Destinations member venue has a long-history of tournament experience, having first hosted this event in 2014. Find out more about this and Hidden Grace Golf Club, as General Manager Ali Kong explains the importance of hosting professional tournaments, what fans can expect from the event and the opening of China’s first golf museum. To keep up-to-date on the Volvo China Open, head to the tournament’s page on the DP World Tour website.

Costa Navarino, the sustainably driven destination in Greece’s southwest Peloponnese, is celebrating the Olympic Games 2024 with landmark events and enhances its sports offering, with a new summer camp and the return of the NBA Basketball School. On April 17, Costa Navarino proudly welcomed the Olympic Flame at the world’s first International Olympic Academy Golf Course, as part of the flame’s journey from Greece to Paris. It is the first golf course in the Mediterranean to ever host the Olympic symbol. The 18-hole signature golf course symbolises the links between golf and Olympism, as it is the nearest golf development to Ancient Olympia, birthplace of the Olympic Games. The naming of course also reflects the International Olympic Academy, Hellenic Olympic Committee and Costa Navarino’s shared values of sustainability, personal welfare, education, and growth. Two young athletes from the Navarino Junior Golf Academy acted as torchbearers. To celebrate the spirit of the Olympics, Costa Navarino will introduce a new five-day sports camp for children and teenagers aged six to 15, from July 15 to August 16. The camp will give them the chance to try their hand at ten different sports which feature in the Olympic Games. The aspiring athletes will receive expert coaching in golf, tennis, basketball, football, archery, climbing, beach volleyball, gymnastics, swimming, and water polo. The basketball and football sessions will be led by coaches from the NBA Basketball School and Bayern FC respectively, while qualified coaches will oversee the other sports. Sports enthusiasts can further develop their skills at the NBA Basketball School which returns at Costa Navarino for its second year of operation, with an engaging program for players of all ages. The NBA Basketball School will run from May 27 to September 15. Young players from six to 18 years old will live the NBA experience in three to seven-day camp programmes, while adults can participate in daily one-hour activities. All participants will receive an NBA branded T-shirt upon registration, and participants who attend the full programme (six or seven days) will receive an NBA Basketball School certificate and NBA gift. For the period from June 30 to August 17, participants will have the exclusive opportunity to train with the NBA veteran and first-round draft pick, Michael Bradley, who will join as full-time camp director. Whilst children are training, adults can also participate in a range of sports including tennis, padel and pickleball at the Mouratoglou Tennis Center, wakeboard, SUP yoga, kitesurfing, sailing and diving in clear blue water, as well as enjoy the Messinian lush nature through hiking, cycling, climbing. Costa Navarino is a 45 minute-drive from Kalamata International Airport. Easyjet flies direct to Kalamata from London Gatwick three times a week from April to November. British Airways has four direct flights a week from London Heathrow between May and October. Jet2 has twice-weekly direct flights from Birmingham, London Stansted and Manchester from May to November, while Ryanair flies weekly from London Stansted between June and September.

Marking a landmark evening for Dubai Golf, the team at Jumeirah Golf Estates, led by Director of Golf, Franco Botha, also won the award for Golf Operations Team of the Year while the team at Emirates Golf Club, headed up by Club Manager, Dean Nelson, won the award for Ultimate Service Excellence. Gold Flag Destination status is a coveted symbol of professional excellence as decided by the 59club in Middle East and Africa. 59club’s industry benchmark of excellence, its Gold, Silver and Bronze Flag Designations, are awarded annually. These highly prized accolades recognise member clubs and resorts that provide excellent facilities for golfers to enjoy, as well as having achieved the required standard of customer service throughout the year. Chris May, CEO of Dubai Golf, commented: “Everybody at Dubai Golf is delighted to have been recognised with these destination status flags that highlight the quality and fantastic service that our venues offer. These MEA Service Excellence Awards are a testament to the great work that the whole team at Dubai Golf has done in the past 12 months, and further demonstrate the exceptional welcome and hospitality that our teams offer.”  Jumeirah Golf Estates‘ Director of Golf, Franco Botha, added: “I’m exceptionally proud of the team here at Jumeirah Golf Estates. We continue going from strength to strength, and prioritising our service has been at the forefront of the experience here for years now. This award reflects the hard work the team has put in to keep pushing for higher standards across the board.” Emirates Golf Club’s Club Manager, Dean Nelson, added: “Winning the 59club Ultimate Service Excellence Award is validation for the hard work our team has put in to make the service we offer members and guests a top priority. The quality of the products and services we offer at Emirates Golf Club are of the highest standard, so it’s crucial to us that we match our service to the experience.” These latest accolades for the Dubai Golf group underline a period of unprecedented development and success, including the hosting of three significant DP World Tour events since November 2023: DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates, Hero Dubai Desert Classic at Emirates Golf Club, and the Dubai Invitational at Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club.