Spirits high for 2004 golf tourist season
In the late 1990s and for much of 2000 and 2001, it was a relatively lucrative business for the golf tour operators, the clubs, the restaurants and the bars. Then came 9/11, foot and mouth, increased costs and a few other factors and suddenly it wasn’t quite the same any more. That’s not to say the bottom fell out of the market, just that the gravy train wasn’t travelling at quite the same pace any longer.
Last night in the plush surroundings of Dromoland Castle in Co Clare, the Irish Golf Tour Operators Association (IGTOA) held their annual banquet and high on the list of priorities was what the 2004 season may hold.
There was a very definite air of optimism, not least because of the recent selection of Ireland as the International Golf Destination for the year 2004. This is a huge boost for Damian Ryan, Director of Golf for Fáilte Ireland, whose job it is to work with the tour operators, the clubs and all interested parties in wooing as many golf visitors to this country as possible.
Ryan has been in the news in recent times, as well as Tourism Minister John O’Donoghue, for pointing out the dangers of overpricing in various elements of the golf tourism market. This didn’t go down well in all quarters which is somewhat difficult to understand given that what he had to say was clearly common sense and designed to be constructive. Marty Carr, son of the legendary Joe, is chairman of the IGTOA, and sympathises with Ryan’s view, while pointing out that several other factors come into the equation.
“There is a certain nervousness among our members for a few reasons,” says Carr. “The war in Iraq, the Madrid bombings, the US election but probably most of all the weak state of the American dollar mean that bookings for ’04 are much later than usual. It’s still difficult to predict how things will work out but the general feeling among our members is that it will be very much on a par with the last couple of years. There is no doubt that margins are being squeezed. The good years ended with 9/11 and ’02 and ’03 were challenging.
“There is a price issue but it’s not just related to green fees. Hotel, restaurant and bar costs, airline charges for golf bags, car rental, the VAT on green fees all impose their own pressures, especially in Britain and mainland Europe. There are destinations such as Spain, France and South Africa where golf is less expensive but then again you can’t compare the quality of the product there with Ireland. Golfers want to come here for that very reason and that they continue to do so is demonstrated by the fact that there have been no casualties in our industry. We have 22 members and over 260 people attended our banquet in Dromoland last night.”
There have been rumblings of discontent from the commercial parkland courses who contend that Fáilte Ireland are directing too much of their marketing resources towards links golf. While expressing sympathy for that stance, Marty Carr points out that the tourism body has poured huge sums of money in promoting the Irish and European Opens, the American Express World Championships and Irish Seniors Open at inland venues such as Mount Juliet, The K-Club, Druid’s Glen, Adare Manor and several others. He also mentioned that Damian Ryan had recently appeared on the US Golf Channel for 20 minutes promoting Irish golf and wondered how you could ever pay for that kind of exposure.
Ryan says he is conscious of the need to promote every complex in the country, not just links courses, especially in the UK and Europe. It is obviously a lot more difficult to entice Americans here to play parkland courses given how many they have of their own, but he insists every effort will be made to point them in that direction when they come here to tackle our great lay-outs by the sea. Ireland now attracts in the region of 240,000 golfing visitors annually, generating close to 200 million.
The breakdown is approximately 153,600 (64%) from the UK, 45,600 (19%) from the US; 40,800 from continental Europe (17%) and 14,400 (6%) from the rest of the world.
“We will use our choice as the number one destination in the world to strenuously market our product,” says Ryan. “We will also use the Ryder Cup in Detroit in September to get across our message, especially with the matches at The K-Club now only two years away. The industry isn’t as strong as it was in 2000 for a variety of well-known reasons but we will indulge in extra marketing in the US and UK on the back of the Ryder Cup and are quietly optimistic for a major upturn in business.”
Pádraig Harrington is heavily involved in the Fáilte Ireland campaign and has expressed his delight at Ireland’s selection as the golf destination of the year for 2004: “I’m not surprised at this latest recognition for Irish golf. I play all over the world and in my experience Ireland’s entire golfing package, in terms of choice and quality of courses, is something special.”
Last night’s IGTOA award winners were: outstanding course, The Island; secretary/manager, Michael Delaney (Co Louth), hotel, Aghadoe Heights, Killarney; Jerry Donworth award for outstanding contribution to golf, Dermot Gilleece (golf writer).
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