England Golf, the governing body for all amateur golf in England, has lent its support to Golf Tourism England as part of a ‘strategic partnership’ between the two bodies.
Golf Tourism England, operating since July 2014, already possesses almost 100 golf properties and tour operators as members, with additional support forthcoming from Visit England, the national tourist board. Its aim is to unite the stakeholders within golf tourism in one of the sport’s most developed markets.
‘Our job is to identify opportunities for these groups to work together and create cross-marketing strategies in order for tour operators to create outstanding bespoke packages to benefit the all-round tourism experience’, said Andrew Cooke, founder and CEO of Golf Tourism England.
‘In recent times, England has been guilty of resting on its laurels, while others around us, particularly our neighbours in Scotland and Ireland, have greatly benefitted from a joined-up approach which has yielded excellent returns in terms of inbound tourism’.
The collaboration between the two bodies should result in streamlined working relations between the numerous entities that have a stake in English golf tourism, something that Cooke is particularly delighted about.
The partnership between England Golf and Golf Tourism England also supports the former’s pledge to create a brighter future for the sport. The ‘Raising Our Game’ strategy launched in 2014 aims to create stronger clubs, address the issue of declining golf club membership and increase the number of people regularly teeing it up.
Chief Executive of England Golf, David Joy, added, ‘This new partnership offers an excellent opportunity to support and educate clubs to promote themselves to tourists from home and abroad and increase their visitor income’. He continued, ‘We will be working closely with Andrew and his team in the coming months to encourage clubs to join Golf Tourism England and benefit from a more harmonised approach to golf tourism’.
England Golf Tourism is confident that a host of Open Championship venues, world-famous links, heathland and parkland courses makes for an attractive proposition for golfers worldwide.
Visit www.golftourismengland.com for more information
