Golf Tourism 101 – REVISITED!
The purveyors of golf tourism have done a real bang-up job in creating an awareness for this sector of tourism. That’s great and no one can fault them for a job well done.
But while there is good and growing awareness of golf tourism and it’s potential to generate income for a whole bunch of stake-holders, one must not forget that famous idiom from Aesop’s Fables – “To kill the Goose That Laid the Golden Eggs”.
While stake-holders are waxing lyrical about golf tourism, there must be a realisation of the pitfalls that can wrangle golf tourism by its neck and wrestle it down.
This force is what is called “the experience factor” – like all services today, one bad experience is all you need to get the thumbs down from the customer and you’ve had it. Also, in this day and age of empowered communications and social media, it’s deadlier than the old-fashioned word-of-mouth put downs.
Having a golf course is not good enough. Having a travel agency is not good enough. Having transport and logistical services is not good enough.
Golf tourism is not about having a flag and a whistle and a tour guide. It does not work that way!
For a sustainable growth industry, national tourism organisations, golf course owners and operators, tour agents and down-stream suppliers of services must come together to provide a service that fully meets the expectations of a golf tourist, especially an avid golf tourist who visits a destination with just one objective in mind – to play as much golf as possible and to have good, all round experiences. This is what a high yield golf tourist is all about!
With the above as the working scenario, the 2018 Asia Pacific Golf Summit will be staging a half-day symposium on golf tourism. Put simply, the session is structured to re-visit the sector and examine from a stake-holders’ perspective as to how to get things done right, the next time around.
The tone will be set by a man who has been on both sides of the fence – as a global promoter of golf tourism and someone who is now actively involved in assisting the industry on how to prepare, manage and tap the full potential of golf tourism. He is Giles Greenwood, one half of the team that established IAGTO and now, the managing director of Seventy2 Golf Limited.
While it is an acknowledged fact that there are national tourism organisations, golf course owners/operators and travel agents who understand and get it that a golf tourist is a special sort of person, sadly, they are not in the majority. This is where the challenge is presented.
The good work of a few stand threatened to be destroyed by the element of greed
of many, hence the stark reminder of the Aesop’s Fables idiom relating to the goose that laid the golden eggs!
The mission of the APGS 2018 symposium is to help create a universal platform for golf tourism in Asia – a sort of road-map that will help all stake-holders to dial-in, get organised and help to grow golf tourism in a sustainable manner.
The sector needs to get properly organised if Asia is to be able to realise and tap the full potential of golf tourism. We have the courses but we need to get better. We need to train our manpower. We need to get our soft-skills polished and sharpened. We need to be the best in the business.
If you are a national tourism organisation, a golf course owner/operator, a tour agency or service provider to the trade, you can’t afford to miss this symposium. It will be a half-day session that will include three renowned experts, a town-hall session and the proceedings will be moderated by James Cronk, president of the Cronk Group in Canada.
Register Now to listen to be part of a new revolution designed to grow and tap golf tourism. It will be happening at the 2018 Asia Pacific Golf Summit https://secure.golfconference.org/event/asia-pacific-golf-summit-2018
APGS 2018 – Engagement – Golf’s New Engine For Growth!
Bangkok – November 1 – 3 * Hyatt Regency Bangkok Sukhumvit * Thailand
APGS – The 12th edition. One Of The Industry’s Best!
www.asiapacificgolfgroup.com www.golfconference.org
