DESTINATIONGOLF . TRAVEL
So , 2020 was the year that never was , and in retrospect 2021 proved to be precious little better , but finally things look like they are really changing in tourism terms and equally , as this applies to the world of golf tourism .
Of course , the idea of light , and by extension – tunnels – immediately brings to mind the old cherry about that not being a light at the end of said tunnel , but just another train coming .
History will show that the Pandemic was , for many business sectors , a bloodbath , and must have felt not dissimilar to the sensation of being hit by a freight train .
In keeping with the original mantra of – ‘ don ’ t just take your golf clubs but bring the family too ! there is so much to do , for the non-golfer , on all of these tours that any golfer disappearing for a day on the links , might not even be missed by the rest of their family !
In a recent issue of Business of Golf Magazine ’ s ( BGM ), Tourism & Travel section , I was talking to Cale Jansen who is the tour operator in the vanguard of marketing and delivering the onthe-ground logistics for these tours , and I asked how he came to ‘ connect ’ with what we had been doing with Destination Golf Travel and BGM :
But after being run over , and in terms of the idea that what really matters is what you do next , as opposed to what you might have already done , the survivors have picked themselves up , dusted themselves down and rolled up their sleeves .
As is often the case , a winnowing leaves gaps , and new opportunities arise to fill the vacuum .
Some of these opportunities often evolve by chance , while others are the result of conscious decisions .
In the case of the first example – chance opportunities - the apparently global surge in interest in golf would be one .
On this same subject , a ‘ bubble ’, whatever the reasons , can be welcome , especially if the unexpected gains can be held onto .
After confirming that the light was not in fact another locomotive ( there may still be one up the line somewhere ), this year has also given us the chance to revisit opportunities , which were forced to be allowed to go fallow .
In this number we would include Destination Golf Travel ’ s ( DGT ) SAIO ( Southern Africa & the Indian Ocean Islands ) golf guide , which will be the second edition , the first having being prepared and launched to coincide with 2020 – yes indeed , even my little used , and misfiring , golf swing ’ s timing is better than this !
Cale Jansen
“ I was in a meeting with Damian Wrigley at Pearl Valley ( one of the Jack Nicklaus Designed Courses Tours ’ stops ), and during our discussions , Destination Golf Travel , the calls to action with the tours , and Golf Staycations ( which combine distressed or off-peak product inventories from hotels and adjacent golf courses ) that you were working on came up , and just sounded like a perfect fit to how we see operating , both in local and international terms .
The second item – the point concerning conscious decisions - were the key tours ( calls to action ), which had originally been developed for the first SAIO Golf Guide to bring the sparkling prose (!), and fantastic images , into a less abstract context .
In this strategy , the three standard bearers were – the Royals Tours , which naturally focus the attention on South Africa ’ s 4 Royal Golf Clubs , and the Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player Designed Courses Tours .
All three take in the best South Africa has to offer , including Gauteng ( SA ’ s economic hub , but which region is also home to some of the best designed and conditioned golf courses in Africa ), and KwaZulu-Natal , which is home to the Zulu Kings and a Prince among SA ’ s destinations .
Naturally , the attractions of the Sunshine Coast , the Garden Route and the Western Cape are also all very well represented , and with Southern Sun properties as the tours ’ preferred accommodation provider , any visitor and their family will be assured of a top-class stay .
Damian Wrigley
I think that you then see the need for SA golf tourism to have an international shop window , and for the golf travel sector to be both proactive and ‘ different ’, so there was match there too in strategic terms .
From a marketing perspective , the reach you have created with the platform you have developed was very exciting .
We believe in collaboration too with like-minded people and businesses , so this also made another , almost ideal , match in terms of our strategic thinking .”
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