other travel sectors. But the desire to play new golf destinations
as seen across the pages of golf publications or websites is an
enormous draw to avid golfers, which is one of the reasons golf
tourism appeals to so many tourist boards. We have already
started to see a rapid increase in long-haul travel from Asian
markets whose golf vacations have predominantly remained
within the region.
DG: Bearing in mind that nearby destinations for some are
long-haul places for others, are the traditional favourite golf
holiday hotspots maintaining their popularity?
PW: With each passing decade, golfers’ expectations are higher
with top quality courses essential, especially the farther a golfer
travels. Value for money, regardless of price, and a variety of golf
courses within an accessible cluster are prerequisites for many.
With 70% of golf travellers looking for a new experience, this is
an opportunity for new destinations and a challenge for those
more established. Traditional favourite golf destination hotspots
can be rejuvenated with even just one additional or renovated
golf course.
DG: How about the new kids on the block? Which previously
little-known golf destinations have established themselves in
recent years?
PW: There is a natural synergy between the work of golf
travel writers and that of golf tour operators who, together,
are instrumental in opening up new golf destinations to golf
travellers. There are many new golf destinations now on offer,
including Slovenia and Bulgaria in Eastern Europe, Malmo in
Sweden (wonderful links courses once deemed the bastion
of Swedish club members) and even within Spain you can find
intriguing new golf destinations such as Logroño in Rioja country,
or even Costa Dourada which is doubling its golf visitors by
the year. Oman, as a golf destination, has emerged from the
desert, while the once-sleepy coastal town of Danang in central
Vietnam is now a golfers’ haven in a lively beach resort and
fantastic city – and will host the 2017 IAGTO Asia Golf Tourism
Convention. The construction of new highways between Punta
Cana and La Romana in the Dominican Republic has, in effect,
created one brand new destination combining all the courses
from both destinations, as you can now drive from one to the
other within 45 minutes. In the USA, golfers are discovering great
golf, awe-inspiring mountain views and fly-fishing in Oregon and,
farther south, there is now a virtual Central American Golf Trail
with some tremendous golf resorts from Guatemala through
Honduras, Nicaragua, established Costa Rica and Panama (now
with seven courses) to Colombia’s Cartagena on the Caribbean
coast.
DG: New golf courses are continuing to be built in some
countries. Do you see that trend continuing or will we see
saturation point being reached at some point?
PW: The decision to construct golf courses should never be
taken purely as a response to a perceived trend. From a tourism
perspective, planning is paramount and golf development
should take place where it has been assessed that courses
will be both environmentally sustainable and economically
viable in the long term, generating incremental revenue for the
destination together with employment and opportunity for
the local community. Where all these factors coincide then the
establishment of golf tourism development zones which support
the constructions of the right courses in the right places at the
right time will lead to all round sustainability. Every destination
must be treated on its own merits.
In 2003 we participated in the preparation of a golf tourism
strategy for Mauritius, together with an environmental ecologist,
an agronomist and a golf course architect. We were asked
to consider plans to build 14 courses in addition to the three
that were already in operation. Our recommendations, on the
contrary, were to build only three more courses in the first
phase, doubling capacity, then adding two further courses once
the six courses were operating close to 75% capacity. The advice
was followed, a Cabinet memo submitted, and Mauritius has
enjoyed sustainable growth in golf tourism in every year since,
throughout the economic crisis, to a point now where golf
tourism generated by just eight golf courses represents 9% of the
island’s tourism revenue.
DG: A number of courses have closed in traditional golf
destinations, including the USA, Ireland, Spain and the UK.
Were there simply too many golf facilities for the number of
golfers?
PW: In the USA, for example, golf travel is focused only on a
minority of golf courses nationwide, which is why the overall
number of courses does not really impact our industry. The same
applies in Ireland and the UK. Golf courses that appeal to both
domestic and international golf travellers are always going to
be in the strongest position economically, but of course some
businesses have failed due to a lack of real estate sales. There
are many examples worldwide where a golf c