PGA Catalunya Resort, near Girona, has collected the IAGTO Sustainability Award for Nature Protection 2020, while its 5* Hotel Camiral won the Hotel Experience Award for Spain.

Each year, the IAGTO Sustainability Awards, which form part of the golf tourism industry’s wider IAGTO Awards, recognise excellence in environmental and social responsibility. They are awarded by global golf tourism trade association IAGTO (International Association of Golf Tour Operators) in conjunction with non-profit golf sustainability body, the GEO Foundation, and sanction GEO Certified venues in three key areas of sustainability – Nature, Resources and Community.

“As a certified venue since 2013, PGA Catalunya Resort has long fostered a strong environmental ethos, steadily transforming itself into an important and recognised ecological reserve,” commented CEO David Plana. “From the use of 100% recycled water to irrigate our two critically-acclaimed courses, the landscaped areas of the estate and the properties’ individual gardens, to the recruitment of our own resident biologist, Oriol Dalmau, we have invested in a number of programmes that aim to support the wildlife of the estate.”

The European Tour Destination soon realised that while many species of plant and animal in the wider region were struggling, the local flora and fauna on the estate were now flourishing. Local breeds of bats, birds, frogs, tortoises and certain plant varieties were all benefiting from PGA Catalunya Resort’s own particular ecosystem, not to mention the colony of one million bees of a local endangered variety, which is now thriving.

“The multitude of unique nature-based activities on offer at PGA Catalunya Resort have helped it develop a unique identity away from golf,” commented Jonathan Smith, GEO Foundation Executive Director. “Be it bird watching around the lakes, a guided tour of the tree species, beekeeping workshops, or capturing, labelling and releasing endangered native turtles, people of all ages have been attracted to take part and develop new skills, as well as learn about and experience the wildlife this 36-hole resort nurtures.

“PGA Catalunya Resort is also home to an ecological, organic garden, a five-hectare vineyard and 18 hives from which it produces its own honey,” he continued. “It’s a multi-functional facility that is delighted to share its natural surroundings with the local community and tourists alike. It’s therefore a worthy winner of the Nature category for 2020.”

In celebration of the 20th annual IAGTO Awards, a new category was introduced – Hotel Experience Award – which recognises hotels in 25 key countries/regions that deliver the best possible experience for visiting golf travellers.

The association’s 700+ golf tour operators voted PGA Catalunya Resort’s Hotel Camiral as the outright winner for Spain, rewarding the 5* hotel for its outstanding product, service and experience their clients had enjoyed in the past year.

For more information about the 2020 IAGTO Awards, which were presented at the end of the International Golf Travel Market in Marrakech, and to download high resolution photos and logos, please visit: www.iagto.com/awards

For further information about PGA Catalunya Resort, please visit www.pgacatalunya.com

ENDS

Image caption #1: PGA Catalunya Resort’s signature 13th hole from the Stadium Course
Image caption #2: PGA Catalunya Resort’s own particular ecosystem has helped local breeds of frogs to thrive

Press release issued by Landmark Media International Ltd
Manuela Whittaker
Tel: +44 (0) 1780 752790
Email: manuela@landmark-media.com
Website: www.landmark-media.com

About PGA Catalunya Resort
Opened in 1999, PGA Catalunya Resort quickly established an international reputation for outstanding quality. The Stadium Course is ranked the number one golf course in Spain by the www.top100golfcourses.com website. PGA Catalunya Resort is ranked the number one resort in Spain by Golf World magazine, which also recognises the venue in its World Top 100 Courses.

The 36-hole resort also offers two accommodation options – Hotel Camiral, a member of The Leading Hotels of The World and Girona's only 5* hotel, and LAVIDA Hotel, aimed at the active traveller. In addition, the European Tour Destination comprises a discreet, low-density real estate development, with first-class leisure facilities and a select number of villa plots, stylish modern semi-detached villas, and luxury apartments. Conveniently situated close to Girona-Costa Brava Airport (five-minute drive) and Barcelona International Airport (one-hour drive), the venue also benefits from the recently completed high-speed train line that links Girona (approximately 15 kilometres from PGA Catalunya Resort) to the rest of Spain and Europe, which provides even faster connections to major cities, including Barcelona, which can now be reached in only 37 minutes.

www.pgacatalunya.com | www.hotelcamiral.com | www.lavidahotel.com

Full list of PGA Catalunya Resort’s accolades:

• 1999 – the UK’s Golf World magazine cites PGA Catalunya Resort’s Stadium Course as Best New Course in Europe
• 1999-2018 – continues to be recognised in Golf World’s Continental European Top 100 Courses, listed in the Top 10
• 2008 – ranked among Peugeot Golf Guide’s Top 1,000 Courses in Europe
• 2009 – voted No.3 in Golf Monthly’s Top 20 European Courses
• 2011 – maintained its top-five position in the Top 50 Courses of Continental Europe rankings, published by the UK’s influential Golf Monthly magazine
• 2011 – named among the World’s Top 100 Golf Course rankings of Golf World
• 2012 – runner-up in both ‘Best Course’ and ‘Best Hotel’ categories of the inaugural Today’s Golfer Travel Awards
• 2012-2019 – ranked Spain’s No.1 golf course by Top100golfcourses.com
• 2013-2014 – voted Best Golf Development in Europe by International Property Awards
• 2014 – both courses recognised in Golf Journal 2014 course review: Stadium Course awarded 83/100 points and Tour Course awarded 69/100
• 2014 – one out of only two international courses included in Fairways Magazine’s Best Golf 2014
• 2014 – ranked 4th in Golf Digest Spain’s Best Spanish Courses listing
• 2014 – named European Golf Resort of the Year 2015 by the International Association of Golf Tour Operators (IAGTO)
• 2014 – Stadium Course voted Spain’s Best Golf Course 2014 at the inaugural World Golf Awards
• 2015-2016 – awarded Best Golf Development in Europe by International Property Awards for second consecutive time
• 2016 – topped ‘Best Course’ and ‘Best Hotel’ categories for Spain in latest Today’s Golfer Travel Awards
• 2016 – named ‘Best Grand Golf Hotel’ Golf Digest’s inaugural Editors’ Choice awards
• 2017 – ranked 3rd in Golf World’s inaugural Top 100 Resorts of Continental Europe
• 2017 – Hotel Camiral added to The Leading Hotels of the World portfolio
• 2018 – both courses recognised in Golf Journal 2018 course review: Stadium Course awarded 83/100 points and Tour Course awarded 71/100 (up 2 points from 2014 review)
• 2018 – Clubhouse Renovation of the Year 2018 – Golf Inc 
• 2018 – Stadium Course recognised as ‘Best Golf Course in Spain’ at World Golf Awards 2018
• 2018 – ranked 2nd in Golf World’s Top 100 Resorts of Continental Europe
• 2019 – ranked 6th in Golf World’s Top 100 Courses of Continental Europe