TREND SETTING-SPORTS MARKETING SURVEYS INC


Time to experience the ItalianRenaissance


Italy is the fourth most visited country in the world, yet in Britain it is a little known golfing holiday destination. This month Sports Marketing Surveys Inc. provides a snapshot into the potential of the country as a golfing holiday destination


Ratio of Golfers to Golf Courses Courses


Italy GB & I


Norway France


Registered 280


2,973 175 591


Denmark 186 Sweden Spain


registered golfer number of fewer than 100,000 golfers, this makes Italy’s golfer per course ratio the lowest of the top 10 European nations and places the country in the perfect position to attract golf tourists who value both variety of courses and tee-time availability as their top two factors when choosing a destination. Already a popular destination amongst German golfers, accounting for 7.6% of


W


non- domestic trips made by these golfers last year, the country has an opportunity to develop its golf tourism industry, especially amongst the GB&I market. When surveyed, respondents were asked to pick the three adjectives/phrases,


from a list of 23 that they most associated with Italy as a golfing destination. Very encouragingly for Italy, of the 10 most commonly picked


adjectives/phrases used to describe Italy as a golf destination, only one has a negative connotation, ‘‘expensive’’. Given the size of the Great Britain and Irish market and current lack of


penetration within this country, understanding how British golfers perceive Italy, arms those marketing the country and its golf courses with the information required to increase its attractiveness. In this case, the key drivers will be allaying any fears over the cost of a golf break to Italy whilst highlighting the scenic and climatic positives. Golfers on the continent, especially from Sweden and Germany, would, on the


whole, be willing to consider taking a golf break to Italy in the next 5 years with only a small percentage rejecting the notion. There is a more divided opinion amongst British and Irish golfers with almost a


third entertaining the idea, a third rejecting it and a third still unsure. Given that less than 1% of GB&I golfers took a golf holiday in Italy in the last 12 months, this result is encouraging and further highlights the opportunity for Italy to create packages that can be marketed to the British golfer to enhance their likelihood of choosing Italy for their future golf break.


ith 280 golf courses, Italy is the sixth largest golfing nation in Europe in terms of quantity of courses on offer, behind only Great Britain and Ireland, France, Germany, Sweden and Spain. Coupled with a


576 351


Germany 724 Netherlands 256


Golfers 93,129


1,173,197 103,553 414,249 93,129


473,797 294,987 637,735 389,515


Ratio per Course 333


395 592 701 820 823 840 881


1522


Italy and holidaying growth potential 10


%


0 2 4 6 8


Percentage of core golfers who took a golf holiday in Italy in the last 12 months


GBI- 0.9% Sweden – 3.3% France- 4.4% Germany- 7.6%


Consideration of Italy as a destination in the next five years Would Consider Would Not Consider Don’t Know 31%


GBI


Sweden France


Germany


71% 56% 76%


35% 11% 21% 13%


33% 18% 23% 11%


The IGTM Report Findings are in conjunction with SPORTS MARKETING SURVEYS INC. and Reed Exhibitions. The report surveyed 6000 regular golfers from Europe’s four largest golf markets- Great Britain & Ireland, France, Germany and Sweden.


30 SGBGOLF


Sweden – 3.3% GBI- 0.9%


France- 4.4% Germany- 7.6%


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