23rd September 2025 - Huelva province in southwest Spain was the setting for the 8th edition of the IAGTO Trophy – and it proved a resounding success.
The event, staged by IAGTO (International Association of Golf Tour Operators), with the support and sponsorship of the Andalucía Tourism Board and provincial tourism organisation Destino Huelva together with the Huelva Golf Course Association, saw 30 tour operators from 13 countries spend four days under sunny skies experiencing the golf courses, cuisine, culture and nature of the Costa de la Luz, Andalucía’s western-most area.
Golf tourism represents Huelva’s main seasonally-adjusted tourism product, generating more than one million overnight stays in 2024 and representing around 25% of the destination’s total.
A workshop at the Ayamonte Exhibition Centre was a key element and involved the tour operators having more than 600 business meetings with golf courses, golf resorts, hotels, inbound operators and golf tourism providers from Huelva and throughout Andalucía.
Huelva’s golf offering comprises eight golf courses at six clubs with 162 greens, together branded as Golf Huelva la Luz. Five of the courses were experienced by the tour operator delegates including for the IAGTO Huelva Tournament on Isla Canela Links, where they played with local tourism suppliers. Some operators also opted to play two of the other courses.
The IAGTO Huelva Trophy was launched with an opening ceremony held at Isla Canela Golf Club attended by dignitaries from Huelva and Andalucía. Among them were: Alberto Fernández, Vice President of the Provincial Council and Mayor of Ayamonte; José Manuel Correa, Delegate of the Andalucía Regional Government in Huelva; Teresa Herrera, Tourism, Culture and Sports Delegate of the Andalucía Regional Government in Huelva; Ana Delgado, President of Destino Huelva; and the President of the Huelva Golf Courses Association, Tino Cordero.
Teresa Herrera emphasised that the IAGTO Trophy initiative was part of “the Andalucía Government's commitment to golf as a strategic segment that positions us as a tourism benchmark in southern Europe.”
The province of Huelva “brings together an exceptional range of courses, climate, and specialised services that attract quality travellers year-round and contributes to reduce seasonality in tourism” she added. “This IAGTO Huelva Trophy also demonstrates the strength of the collaborative work between government agencies and the private sector to promote the destination in key international markets.”
Herrera also thanked IAGTO “for its trust in the destination, helping to boost an industry that generates economic benefits, stable employment and new development opportunities in all the Andalucian destinations where it operates, boosting the tourism value chain.”
Daniel Navarro Campero, Golf Promotion Executive for Destino Huelva, said: “For Huelva as a destination, we promote our golf product as the most important one after sun and beach,” he said. “Golf Huelva la Luz is how the Huelva golf industry wants to be known in the rest of world and in the golf industry.
“We have brought 30 golf tour operators here to Huelva to experience the golf courses, cuisine, culture and nature that this western-most region of Andalucía is famous for,” said Callum Endicott, Deputy Director of IAGTO, who escorted the group.
“The tour operators had over 600 meetings with golf tourism suppliers from across Andalucía at the business session and conversations continued throughout the week, with the Huelva delegation participating in every activity. The event has been incredibly well organised, with the hosts serving up a real golf feast at Isla Canela Links for the IAGTO Huelva Trophy Tournament itself – under beautiful blue skies, golf tour operators and Andalucian golf tourism suppliers were paired up for the team scramble, IAGTO-style.”
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