Golf tourism on the rise in the Canaries

According to Rita Martin of the Canarian Governments department of tourism and despite the recent crisis, golf tourism is increasing in the Canary Islands. During 2009 there was an increase of 3.5% in this type of tourism with over 15.000 tourists from mainland Spain and over 361.000 from other areas, concluding that the islands are a good destination for golf. The main season for visitors is during the winter although there is a push to extend this to the summer. 55% of tourists visiting arrange their holidays via the Internet and the main destinations are Tenerife and La Gomera with 55% of the demand, while Gran Canaria has 30% and Lanzarote and Fuerteventura 13% of the demand for golfing holidays. 32% of visitors chose a 4 star hotel with an occupancy average of 12 days, which is higher than the normal 9 days average of all tourism.