Big pitch to lure golfers
And for markets like Ireland, where golf tourism brings in more than €200m annually, there is absolutely no question of giving the industry’s annual trade show a miss.
Which is why last week, Fáilte Ireland and 20 of its trade partners in the Irish golf industry decamped to Vilamoura on Portugal’s Algarve, set out its stall and spent a week making its pitch to the world’s golf tourism buyers.
Martin Donnelly, Fáilte Ireland’s golf tourism advisor, headed the Irish delegation to IGTM, providing the country’s stakeholders with space on its stand, under the Golf Ireland: Time to Play banner which “provides a high profile, very visual representation of Ireland as a golf product”.
“It is a very competitive industry,” Donnelly told the Irish Examiner.
“That said, Ireland’s golf tourism industry is worth in excess of €200m to the economy every year. We host anything between 155,000-160,000 pure golf tourism visitors into the country every year.
“But the competition is significant and part of being at IGTM is ensuring that Ireland’s golf product is right to the forefront of international golf buyers’ minds each year. Because of that level of competition, if you’re not out there in the marketplace, selling hard, you’d be quickly forgotten about and that’s why we attend the event.
“We took around 20 trade partners and each one of those had their own section on the FI stand and conducted around 40 meetings with golf buyers from across the world.
“It’s a great platform for them to go and do their thing which is sell their products.”
IGTM is the biggest golf travel market event of the calendar year with 600 golf tourism suppliers meeting 350 pre-qualified buyers and if the word ‘market’ evokes scenes from the bazaar, first appearances at such events would not betray the perception.
There’s Ireland on its stand, next to Bulgaria and with Scotland on their other side, Spain’s over there, Florida’s in that corner. Yet, as Donnelly explains, this market is not an arena for shouting the odds with rival vendors.
“In the build up to IGTM, myself and the Irish golf providers on the stand schedule meetings with buyers,” he said. “The buyers come to us on the stand and those meetings take around 15 to 20 minutes each. It’s not like a bazaar, it’s actually very structured, quite formal and each and every person gets an opportunity to meet those persons they see as best options for their own particular product.
“Most of the industry will have pre-arranged around 40 meetings prior to travelling out there.”
If it sounds like a business-related form of speed dating, Donnelly does not disagree, with some meetings leading to potentially relationship-building second ‘dates’.
“You could describe it along those lines, yes, those 20-minute meetings, and if they’re with someone you strike an accord with you might arrange to meet them at another point to flesh out that initial discussion.
“Over recent years, without being at IGTM we would not have seen the growth in Irish golf tourism that we have. It is the platform. We’ve been following with our partners about how they felt the week went and we’ve had comments like ‘that was the best IGTM we’ve been at’.
“So we’re confident that provided we stay right at the forefront of our market that we can deliver solid business out of IGTM.”
Donnelly’s confidence is backed by feedback last week from the world’s golf tourism buyers and his belief that Irish golf tourism suppliers are among the best in the industry, dealing with a superior product.
“What came across at the event for me was a very warm feeling about Ireland’s golf product. The buyers genuinely believe in the golf product and they are more than willing to have it within their product portfolios and despite that competition it still sells extremely well.
“I genuinely believe that we have shown decent growth, even in the tough climate of the last four or five years .
“I’m absolutely convinced that given the quality of our product and given the understanding of our trade partners last week at IGTM that they understand how competitive the industry is and they are adapting accordingly.
“I found, especially in those discussions that they had at their meetings with buyers, that we are very much competitive and we’re right there in the marketplace and in the forefront of international buyers’ minds.”
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