DESTINATIONGOLF . TRAVEL
Asia has more golfers than any other continent in the lastest R & A report . The R & A recently announced new global participation figures that show an additional ten million adult golfers have been playing the sport worldwide since 2016 .
As the world ’ s largest and most populous continent , it is perhaps unsurprising that Asia has more golfers than any other continent in this report .
The top five on-course adult golfer markets overall in 2023 are in Japan ( 8.1 million ), Canada ( 5.6 million ), Republic of Korea ( 5.4 million ), England ( 3.4 million ) and Germany ( 2.1 million ). Asia is the leading region for people engaging with golf among R & A-affiliated regions , with total adult engagement of 22.5 million . Europe is next highest with 21.1 million adult engagements .
With 16.1 million 9 & 18 hole golfers and five countries with over 300,000 9 & 18 hole golfers , Asia remains narrowly ahead of Europe .
The development of engaging and fun means of interacting with golf is particularly important in Asia , where many golfers are unable to access memberships and tee times and where the golf infrastructure for on-course options is more limited .
Golf ’ s Soaring Popularity in Asia .
The Republic of Korea , Singapore , Hong Kong , and Japan have some of the highest numbers of golfers per 9 & 18-hole courses internationally .
Finding ways to bring more golfers into the official federation ecosystem is a major task for the various federations in Asia . The sport has since continued to increase in popularity postpandemic , up 15 % from 34.5 million on-course players in 2020 . Southeast Asia , particularly countries like Thailand , Vietnam , Malaysia , and Indonesia , has been growing as a golf tourism destination .
These countries have invested in golf course development and marketing to attract golf enthusiasts from around the world . The region offers a mix of beautiful golf courses , scenic landscapes , and relatively affordable golf vacations compared to some other parts of the world .
Cambodia , Singapore and the Philippines are now starting to attract more international golfers so the region has even more to offer golfers who like new challenges .
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