The economic value of golf tourism and events
to Scotland has increased to £286 million per year following a bumper decade in
Scotland, the Home of Golf.
The new figure has been revealed as part of
an independent study commissioned by VisitScotland and Scottish Enterprise,
confirming the key contribution of the golf tourism and events industry to the
Scottish economy.
The study reveals that the value of golf
tourism and events has increased by 30 per cent (£66 million) since 2008,
supporting 4,700 jobs and spreading benefits across the country’s golfing
regions.
It also shows that overseas golfing visitors
spend on average £338 per night during a trip to Scotland, which is more than 4
times the daily spend of an average overseas visitor (£78.90)*.
Other key findings include:
·
Almost half (47 per cent)
of overnight visitors traveled from overseas to play golf in Scotland
·
The North American market
remains key, representing 30 per cent of all overnight golfing visitors with 14
per cent coming from Europe
·
On average, overnight
golfing visitors spend on average 6.79 nights in Scotland on their trip while
for overseas visitors the duration jumps to 10.21 on average.
·
Overnight visitors spend on
average 7.5 days playing golf while they also average 3.85 days participating
in other tourism activities, meaning they are also benefitting non-golf tourism
businesses and attractions
·
On average an overnight
golfing visitor will spend £245 per night but this number jumps to £338 for
visitors from overseas. For North Americans this figure increases to £405 per night
·
The
majority of overseas visitors (57%) had been to Scotland before suggesting
that, for many, a trip to Scotland is not seen as a once in a lifetime
experience
·
Of
all overnight visitors, 81% overall agreed their trip was one of the best
golfing holidays or short breaks they had ever taken (higher for North
Americans)
The results of the study come after a stellar
period for golf in Scotland, which has benefited from the global media profile
and economic impact of a number of key golf events including multiple Open
Championships, Ricoh Women’s British Opens and The 2014 Ryder Cup among others.
However, crucially, the economic impact of major one-off events such as The
Ryder Cup is not included in the £286 million figure and therefore represents
additional value to Scotland.
Malcolm Roughead, Chief
Executive of VisitScotland, said: “These findings
outline the importance golf tourism and events play in supporting Scotland’s
visitor economy and the Scottish economy as a whole.
“Golf is one of Scotland’s
unique selling points which resonates with potential visitors all over the
world and signifies why we place huge importance promoting Scotland as the Home
of Golf to a global market place. Our support of international golf events and
our global golf marketing activity gives us significant media profile and I am
delighted that this is in turn reflected in golf’s contribution to the Scottish
economy.”
Danny Cusick, Tourism Sector
Portfolio Director at Scottish Enterprise, commented:
“Scotland has some of the finest golfing
assets in the world as well as a rich golfing history and heritage, and with
such tremendous international appeal, it comes as no surprise that the value of
this important tourism sector has grown enormously in recent years.
“But we mustn’t rest on our laurels; we want ambitious Scottish golf tourism companies to capitalise on this upward trend and consider how best they can develop and scale their business to meet the growing domestic and international demand.
“We have a range of support available for companies looking to expand, develop their products, find new customers and assist their growth plans, and would encourage companies to contact Scottish Enterprise to find out more.”
“But we mustn’t rest on our laurels; we want ambitious Scottish golf tourism companies to capitalise on this upward trend and consider how best they can develop and scale their business to meet the growing domestic and international demand.
“We have a range of support available for companies looking to expand, develop their products, find new customers and assist their growth plans, and would encourage companies to contact Scottish Enterprise to find out more.”
The results of the
study will now be used to further inform Scotland’s Golf Tourism Strategy: Driving Forward Together which
specifically targets growing the industry to the value of £300 million to the
Scottish economy by 2020.
Some key findings in relation to the strategy include the importance of
the domestic market, particularly to Tier 3 courses and the evidence that domestic golfing
visitors in Scotland showed a younger age profile than those travelling to
Scotland to play golf.
In relation to
The 2019 Solheim Cup, the report also showed some key opportunities for growth
for female golfing visitors. On average 12 per cent of golfing visitors to
Scotland were female but for Europeans this jumped to almost 1 in 5 (18 per
cent). Female golfing visitors also tended to be more ‘committed’ golfers than
male counterparts with more having handicaps and golf club membership and less
inclination to describe themselves as social golfers.
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