Marbella targets British golfers beyond summer with its strategy at the Legends Tour in Kent

Marbella does not need to convince the British market that it has golf courses. The challenge is different: getting travellers who already know the sport and regularly take golf holidays to choose the Costa del Sol even after summer ends.

With that objective, the city has taken its tourism offer to Kent, England, during the Staysure English Legends, held from 28 to 30 August 2026 at Chart Hills Golf Club.

Marbella’s presence at one of the Legends Tour events forms part of a broader strategy that uses golf as a tool to attract visitors with strong spending power, experience travelling specifically for the sport and, crucially, the flexibility to do so in autumn, winter and spring.

Marbella is selling more than golf courses

Marbella’s main advantage over many European golf destinations lies outside the course itself.

A visitor can play a round in the morning and spend the rest of the day enjoying restaurants, hotels, spas, beaches, Puerto Banús, shopping and nightlife.

That combination allows Marbella to market itself as a complete holiday experience rather than simply somewhere to book several green fees.

For golfers planning a dedicated trip, having numerous courses located relatively close to one another also makes it easier to organise a multi-course stay without spending large amounts of time travelling.

Golf may be the starting point, but visitor spending extends far beyond the fairways.

The British market at the heart of the strategy

The United Kingdom is particularly important.

British visitors are already highly familiar with the Costa del Sol, the country has a strong culture of golf tourism and direct air connections with Málaga make short golf breaks relatively easy to organise from several UK cities.

That gives Marbella’s presence in Kent a clear commercial purpose.

The tourism delegation has used the event to hold meetings with Golfbreaks and Your Golf Travel, two of the UK’s leading specialists in organising and selling golf holidays.

The objective is to present Marbella’s offer directly to companies capable of turning destination promotion into actual bookings, packages and new visitor flows.

The real target is November, February or March

Marbella has little difficulty attracting visitors in July and August.

The challenge is maintaining strong tourism activity once the main beach season has ended.

That is where golf becomes particularly valuable.

While colder weather limits play in many parts of northern and central Europe during certain months, the Costa del Sol’s climate allows golf courses to remain active for much of the year.

This makes golf an especially useful tool for reducing tourism seasonality.

A visitor travelling specifically to play will normally need accommodation, transport, restaurants and complementary services. More importantly, that trip can take place precisely when hotels and other businesses experience lower demand than in summer.

A tournament surrounded by major names in golf

The setting chosen to promote Marbella is also significant.

The Staysure English Legends has been held at Chart Hills Golf Club, a Kent course designed by Sir Nick Faldo and opened in 1993.

The event forms part of the Legends Tour, a circuit featuring former champions, major winners and players with long careers in professional golf.

The 2026 edition has included several well-known names from the international game, strengthening the event’s ability to attract fans, industry professionals and businesses connected to golf tourism.

For Marbella, appearing in this environment allows the city to associate its image with a specialist international circuit and speak directly to an audience already interested in golf.

From promotion to a real Marbella experience

The city’s presence has also included its own promotional stand, where information about Marbella’s tourism and golf offering has been distributed.

Marbella has also taken part in a promotional initiative offering a prize that includes two nights in the city and four green fees.

The format summarises the strategy well.

Rather than simply showing photographs of golf courses, the aim is to let a potential visitor experience what a golf break in Marbella could actually look like.

Staying in the city, playing several courses and then enjoying the wider tourism offer makes the product much more tangible.

Golf, gastronomy and hotels: a visitor with a wider economic impact

Golf tourism has another particularly attractive characteristic for destinations.

Spending does not end when the green fee is paid.

A stay of several days will normally involve hotels, restaurants, car hire or transfers, green fees, shopping and other leisure activities.

Marbella’s interest therefore goes beyond simply increasing the total number of tourists.

The strategy also seeks visitors whose economic impact is spread across several sectors of the city.

That approach fits naturally with the premium international positioning Marbella has developed over many years.

A relationship with the Legends Tour that goes beyond Kent

The trip to England is not an isolated promotional action.

Marbella already has a direct relationship with the circuit and features among the international destinations connected with Legends Tour experiences, with Aloha Golf Club among its participating venues.

The city has also taken part in other promotional activities linked to the tour during 2026, including a presence at the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship in Aberdeen, Scotland.

Kent therefore becomes another stop within a continuing strategy combining professional tournaments, destination marketing and commercial meetings.

The advantage of playing when other destinations enter winter

Competition between European golf destinations is not based solely on the quality of the courses.

Portugal, Turkey, other Spanish regions and Mediterranean resorts are all competing for an international traveller who increasingly compares complete experiences rather than golf alone.

Marbella has a difficult combination to match: climate, numerous courses, luxury hotels, gastronomy, leisure, services and coastline.

Most importantly, much of that offer remains available after summer has finished.

That is probably the real objective behind Marbella’s presence in Kent.

Not to convince a British golfer to visit in August, but to make the city come to mind when they want to play in November, February, March or April.

For Marbella, golf can therefore be much more than a sport. It can be one of the tools that helps extend the tourism season across almost the entire year.

Marbella’s participation in the circuit forms part of the golf tourism promotion strategy of Marbella Town Hall, while the dates, venue and details of the Kent tournament can be found on the official Legends Tour website.