Tenerife is hosting the Tenerife Women’s Open from 5th to 8th June, which is part of the Ladies European Tour (LET) calendar and is one of the most important women’s golf tournaments on the continent, bringing together the best golfers on the European circuit. The event, organised by the Cabildo through Turismo de Tenerife, will be held at Abama Golf and will showcase the excellence of this and the rest of the island’s golf courses in their firm commitment to sustainability.
The Cabildo’s Vice President and Councillor for Tourism, Lope Afonso, affirms that “for Turismo de Tenerife this is a strategic commitment. We are committed to quality tourism, which contributes to the wealth and profitability of the island’s tourist activity. It also gives us a position in the market. We have all the ingredients for this event to be a great celebration of sport this week on our island, and at the same time it is a great promotional loudspeaker for Tenerife, quality tourism and our commitment to sustainability”.
The Tenerife Tourism’s CEO, Dimple Melwani, points out that ‘the island is once again hosting one of the most important and prestigious international golf tournaments. The climate, connectivity, the excellence of its courses, the professionalism of the staff, as well as diversity of services for golfers and its experiential offer are part of the attractions that the destination generates for its organisers’. Melwani stresses that ‘golf tourism for the island is an important segment with a higher level of spending at the destination. The average expenditure of a golf tourist is 1.844 euros compared to the 1.430 euros spent by the average tourist in Tenerife, which represents an increase of 29%’, concludes the CEO of the entity.
The Ladies European Tour CEO, Alexandra Armas, also highlighted the importance of the return of the tournament: “It is a privilege to come back to Tenerife, a place full of history and tradition in women’s golf. The relationship between the island and the LET has been key in promoting the sport and we are delighted that Abama Golf will host a competition that will be highlighted in the players’ calendar.”
The director of Abama Golf, Brendan Breen, comments that “we appreciate this great commitment of the Cabildo of Tenerife for this tournament that we are hosting. We have prepared the golf course so it is in perfect conditions for the players, and their experience.”
Iñigo Aramburu, general director from Deporte and Business, says that “this is the best way to promote quality tourism on the island, because of the excellent relationship between investment and return on investment that this type of event has. We are delighted to return to Tenerife.”
The tournament director and representative of the Ladies European Tour, Joao Pinto, said that “congratulations to all the organization of this event, as I am sure that this event will be memorable and very successful.”
Canarian player Emma Cabrera-Bello said “congratulations on this great commitment to women’s golf in Tenerife. The course is in spectacular conditions to play. This commitment of the Cabildo of Tenerife will be an incentive for the new generations in this women’s sport. It is a great opportunity to make the young promises dream. It will be a unique spectacle.”
Abama Golf, designed by Dave Thomas, is characterised by its combination of technical and strategic holes, as well as its panoramic views of the Atlantic Ocean and the island of La Gomera. In 2006, Abama Golf also hosted the Tenerife Ladies Open. The tournament will have three hours of live television every day, reaching 87 countries and up to 144 million households worldwide.
Tenerife has been an essential enclave for women’s golf for decades, consolidating a close relationship with the Ladies European Tour (LET). Throughout nine consecutive editions, between 2002 and 2010, the Tenerife Women’s Open (formerly known as Tenerife Ladies Open) hosted the best players on the circuit, with emblematic venues such as Golf del Sur, Golf Las Américas, Buenavista Golf, Golf Costa Adeje and Abama Golf. Tenerife continued to be a protagonist with two editions of the Spanish Ladies Open: in 2012 at Golf Las Américas, and in 2014 at Golf Costa Adeje.
Sustainable courses
Almost 97% of the water used by the golf courses in Tenerife is regenerated or desalinated, in this case, in their own desalination plants (as in the case of Abama Golf). Meanwhile, 3% comes from its own reservoirs that are fed by rain, or from galleries, and in neither case is water for human consumption withdrawn. Tenerife has seven 18-hole courses and two nine-hole courses. In their design, always taking into account the island’s climate and the need to require as little water as possible given its scarcity, the optimisation of water resources has been a fundamental element. Thus, the irrigation surface area has been reduced to the minimum possible, and the fields have been surrounded by large areas of picón or sand. Low-water-use grasses such as bermuda or paspalum varieties are also used to a large extent, which also withstand high-salinity water, as is the case with reclaimed water.
The fields that use reclaimed water obtain it, with the corresponding cost payment, from the company Aguas de Tenerife Baltén from the sewage generated by the different towns on the island. As with plastic, glass or cardboard, this water is given a ‘second life’ through the creation of a circular economy system that helps to generate new jobs and to reuse wastewater that would otherwise, at least in the part used by the golf courses, be lost as wastewater discharged into the sea. In the specific case of the island’s courses, they reuse 20% of the reclaimed water from Balten. The courses that use desalinated water produce it in their own desalination plants, which are financed from their own resources and built with the relevant permits.
The water-saving measures of Tenerife’s golf courses also include advanced irrigation systems that apply the latest available technologies. These systems incorporate special software with a weather station capable of measuring the ambient temperature, soil humidity, wind, etc., which helps to optimise the amount of water required for each irrigation as well as its frequency.
Golf tourist profile
The family income of golf tourists in Tenerife is 63.521 euros, more than 5.000 euros higher than the average for tourists visiting the island. Their average stay is 11.6 nights, also higher than the average of 8.8 for all tourists. The average expenditure per person per day for golfers is 213.30 euros compared to 183.08 euros for the rest of the visitors to Tenerife. Overall, and according to estimates made by the Research Department of Tenerife Tourism, golf tourists generated tourist income of more than 321 million euros in 2024, 12.2 percent more than in the previous year, due both to the increase in their spending and the number of travellers who play golf.
