South Africa, Turkey and Dubai could overtake Spain and Portugal as the most popular destinations for golf holidays, according to two exclusive surveys conducted by KPMG Golf Advisory Services.
More than 70 tour operators and 50 golf course architects in Europe, the Middle East and Africa were interviewed for the surveys.
When asked which countries or regions had the most potential to become significant golf tourism destinations, both the tour operators and golf course architects tipped South Africa, Turkey and Dubai for future growth. And while golf tour operators anticipated continued growth in the established markets of Spain and Portugal, they were also seen to be the most threatened by the emerging golf destinations.
Andrea Sartori, head of KPMG’s specialist golf advisory services team for the EMA region, said, “The golf industry as a whole is likely to benefit from the continued growth of the broader travel and tourism industry. However, the traditional golf markets of Europe and North America can expect increasing competition from the emerging golf destinations that offer high quality golfing experiences at affordable prices.”
The Caribbean and Latin America were also seen as emerging golf destinations. Ireland, Scotland and England were viewed as the most stable markets over the next 10-15 years.
Overall, 33 per cent of golf tour operators said they expected spectacular growth in the golf travel market over the next 15 years, while 56 per cent believed there would be steady growth. Eleven per cent expected the market to stagnate.
“The results confirm the changing face of the travel and tourism industry, boosted by more frequent travel, lower air fares, greater accessibility of new destinations, plus increases in family travel and sports and activity based holidays,” added Andrea Sartori.
KPMG golf advisory services is part of KPMG’s Central and Eastern European real estate, leisure and tourism practice and will publish its second annual Golf Benchmark Survey of the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMA) region in December 2007 www.golfbenchmark.com
KPMG Benchmark Survey www.golfbenchmark.com