Golf is one of the more popular sports activities in many parts of the world, coming ahead of football, tennis, fishing and riding. It is estimated that there are 2 m regular golfers and 3 m occasional golfers in the UK alone. Golf can play a role in stimulating tourism and attracting additional visitors to destinations and accommodation enterprises. Tourism can also generate an additional source of revenue for clubs and golf operators.
Golf Courses in India
Golf is rather like fishing or walking in that doing it in a different location adds a fresh dimension and challenge. A key motivation for many players, particularly those from overseas, is the opportunity to play on famous courses and that is why Golf generates tourism opportunity in the form of enhancing attraction of places with designer and signature Golf courses.
Corporate Golf
Golf Tourism is on an upswing can be seen from the fact that a large numbers of hotels would claim to be able to offer golf to their guests by virtue of being close to a golf course. Also the term ‘Golf Tourism‘ is finding mention in many tourism websites.
Also since the players want to stay closer to the course, it generates accommodation traffic and Golf course by their nature being visually attractive make for the creation of a destination by itself.
A number of innovative practices are increasingly being used to promote Golf Tourism such as:
- Training packages for golf courses on marketing and business planning and customer care (e.g. Welcome Golfer)
- Encouraging the formation of regional golf groupings
- Research to examine spare capacity and identify clubs interested in golf tourism
- Researching the market and identifying what people want
- Establishing new competitions and events, to attract visiting golfers at off-peak times
- Producing a definitive golf guide and exhibiting golf shows
Gurgaon emerges as a Golf city
DLF Golf Resort – Gurgaon, Haryana
Gurgaon has a few of the best golf courses in the country, each quite different from another and yet in close proximity,” said Aakash Johri, director, DLF Golf Resort, one of the three 18-hole courses in the city.” This variety is one of the main features that attract golf enthusiasts to the city to experience different kinds of courses.
It is in the winter season when most golf tourists visit India. October to March is the time which sees most number of footfalls. International tourists mostly come from Europe, South East Asia and Middle East. Japan is also known to generate a lot of Golf traffic.
“A lot of top executives working for multinational companies prefer to fix the deal over a round of golf,” The environment for golf to thrive has also improved in the city. “The most promising development is the availability of so many good quality hotels at more reasonable prices,” says Rishi Narain, Asian Games gold medallist in Golf and MD of Rishi Narain Golf Management.
With new corporate hubs like NOIDA and Gurgaon developing a fair bit of Golfing facilities and also residential projects centered around Golf, Golf tourism is sure to go Swinging!!
If you want to be notified next time, subscribe to the RSS feed or say hello via Twitter @theotherhome. You can plan your dream holiday with us, visit The Other Home.
No comments:
Post a Comment