“Golfers have continued to take on average 1.8 golfing breaks a year throughout the downturn” ROSS MARSHALL,
YOURGOLFTRAVEL.COM
Lush greens tempt the golfers to Le Meridien Penina Golf & Resort in Portugal
Andrew Harding (left) and Marshall set up the firm in 2005
courses and spas, which helps our offering, as they would rather have our business than someone else’s,” says Marshall.
So while the focus remains on British consumers, Marshall believes there are big opportunities with inbound golf travel to the UK. As a result,
YourGolfTravel.com last year launched an inbound operation, primarily targeted at clients in the Far East and the US. “Given that 80% of all the world’s golfers live in North America and there are expanding areas in the Far East especially, there are obviously huge opportunities to do things internationally,” says Marshall. “We have
representatives on the ground here and they take
them around, which is particularly important with the Chinese, Koreans and Japanese.” Customer service is also a major focus, with the company having a customer retention rate of more than 50%. So where does Marshall believe other travel companies are getting it right, or wrong? “Customer service has deteriorated significantly in the past 10 years. But I think British travel firms have always been very strong and sophisticated on product,” he says. Providing new product is something that Marshall and Harding have also been able to do themselves, through an expansion into spa breaks and racing weekends.
The spa business,
Spabreaks.com, launched in 2008 and has grown to £7 million in sales in 2011. “It is in its early stages but growing nicely,”
says Marshall. The racing side,
Racingbreaks.com, was launched in mid-2011 and is based on offering tickets to racing events, with accommodation. “We run the official golf
Golf in the UK, like at Celtic Manor Resort in Wales, is a key focus
Marshall’s ADVICE
days for the Cheltenham Festival, Royal Ascot and Glorious Goodwood, and the demographic between golfing and racing is very close, which makes it interesting. More than 6.2 million people went to a racecourse last year.”
And with this sort of expansion planned, things are looking good for the year ahead, says Marshall. “We have a positive outlook. Sales for both companies are up 40% year-on-year at the start of 2012, which is very positive given the current austerity in the economy.”
ON LAUNCHING A NICHE TRAVEL BUSINESS FROM SCRATCH “Know your product inside and out,” he
says. “Every employee in the sales and marketing
capacity is a golfer. You need to be knowledgeable and passionate about what you sell. Put yourself in the customer’s perspective. What can you do to give them a great experience, what can you offer them for their money and how can you differentiate yourself? It’s also important to find a market that is scalable if you have a niche business, so you can generate enough business to make it work.”
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