Word is reaching this page of a rogue operator offering supposedly discounted green fees on the Costa del Sol. Already, several bona fide golf booking agencies have been picking up the pieces of distressed bookings: Golf Leisure Breaks made one for a group last week which totalled around 2000? ? they had also unwittingly paid out a similar sum to another person which is unlikely to be recouped as the golf courses in question wouldn?t honour the original reservations.
Unfortunately, this tends to occur in cycles as, for the sake of argument, a landlord decides he is now an authority on golf and decides to sell cheap green fees with the none-too-ulterior motive of improving takings behind the bar. This landlord does not have any extra overheads: rented premises, trained and qualified staff, insurance, taxes etc. Most importantly he does not have the necessary cover to make his ?enterprise? a legally bonded travel agency in Spain; hiding behind his bar?s ?S.L.? status is not enough.
One only has to walk down certain promenades to see how these so-called golf societies have sprung up. Indeed, there is one in Fuengirola which blatantly flaunts the law by parking a 9-seater minibus outside offering airport and golf transfers: this without even having the necesssary ?SP? plates. The law clearly states that if you start selling more than one component of a holiday ? green fees, accommodation ? then you are legally obliged to become a travel agency ( ?agencia de viaje?) with a ?CIAN? number; roughly the equivalent of an ATOL agency in the UK with the same guarantee that a holidaymaker?s? trip will be covered in the case of bankruptcy.
This is a pity as the bad eggs tend to spoil it for many dedicated companies in Spain with years of experience and who attend trade fairs like the International Golf Travel Market and the World Travel Market with the aim of promoting Andalucia, their adopted home in many cases. It only takes one such incident to be relayed to fellow golf club members back in the UK, Ireland etc and you can bet your life the 2012 trip will be to Portugal or Turkey instead.
I am going to stick my neck out here by saying the fault lies to some extent at home. The same regional governmental inspectors with their misguided Spanish pride, only too happy? to fine bars which do not translate ?Pint of beer? into ?Pinta,? are the same inspectors which have effectively turned a blind eye to an emerging black market in golf. Look beyond the blackboard! The fault also lies at the door of certain golf directors only too willing to accommodate societies in order to make a fast buck. Discussing this with a fellow tour operator recently he made a telling commentary: ?Offer a Spaniard one bob today or two bob tomorrow and he will take the former.? This is a generalisation but one that rings true in Andalucia as, having travelled to Portugal on many occasions, this is not something I see happening on the Algarve.
The golf course is losing two-fold: being firstly associated with a tacky establishment whose golfers then jump out of the buggy on the 18th , clubs in the boot en route to their local for a sandwich and cheap pint. No takings in the 19th hole nor pro shop with these boys! So the next time somebody offers you a free drink on the house ? with a golfing pitch to follow ? for the sake of the Costa del Golf ask him or her for their ?CIAN? number.
Source: http://www.golfbookingsinspain.com/2011/07/12/costa-del-boys/
bartender newsweek toy story 4 toy story 4 compaq world of warcraft google blog
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.