Golf tourism in the rough

Golf tourism is in the rough for more established golf markets, says Euromonitor International

Research firm Euromonitor International provides an overview of the world’s established golf markets, which it claims have stagnated when it comes to attracting golf tourists

According to the International Association of Golf Tour Operators, the global golf tourism market is worth around US $30 billion annually, accounting for a total of 50 million golfers worldwide.

North America is by far the world’s leading market in terms of golf as a sport. In the US, golf is estimated to contribute more than $60 billion to the economy. Other well established golfing tourism regions with mature markets include Canada, the UK, Japan and Australia.

The 2008 KPMG’s golf study in EMEA, shows that Europe’s golf tourism market (revenue raised directly from golf courses) accounted for a total of $3.3 billion in 2006, of which $490 million was generated in the UK.

Golfing types

Golf attracts affluent tourists with above average tourist expenditure. The main market for the golf tourism industry is the regular golfer who plays at least eight to 12 times a year.

However, recently there has been a decline, particularly in the mature markets, in this type of players, while the number of occasional golfers who play golf as a second activity is increasing.

Currently, the typical golf tourist spends on average between four and seven days on a short-haul golf holiday and between seven and 14 days on a long-haul golf holiday, playing an average of four to six rounds of golf on three to five different courses during a week’s holiday.

This provides the travel and tourism players with a great opportunity to offer golf as an added, special feature to holiday tourists or to the corporate travel segment.

When choosing a destination, golf tourists’ priorities are mainly the climate and the quality of the golf course followed by price and accessibility.

Taking into account the increasing importance of climate for golf tourists some countries in Western Europe, such as Portugal, Spain and Turkey are considered by the industry to have good growth potential while some Asian countries such as Thailand, Malaysia and China are regarded as important emerging golf destination with huge future growth potential.

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American demand weakens

Golf’s growth in America has been stagnant for years. The number of players and courses is static, which can be mainly attributed to the recent economic crisis, combined with shrinking disposable incomes and the increasing number of Americans who cannot afford to make golf into a family holiday.

In addition, observers have stated that increasingly, Americans are less able to dedicate the amount of time needed for golf than they used to.

This has been attributed to changing family dynamics in modern America.

With the onset of high unemployment, set to exceed 10% in 2010, this trend is set to continue in the midterm.

According to the National Golf Foundation, the number of new courses expected to open in the United States in 2009 is the smallest in 20 years, with 80 or so that are expected to open, compared to the 100 courses expected to close this year. This points to a shrinkage in supply in response to weakened domestic demand.

The American market is not likely to grow unless innovative ways of playing are developed, such as shorter courses for fun, family games. On the other hand, there is potential for an increase in the number of golf players as the first set of baby boomers have started to reach retirement.

With the economic crisis, combined with the high cost of the sport, which is currently affecting both the leisure and business golf market, a decline in the US market is expected in the short to medium term.