July 17, 2018
The world over Scotland is known as one of the premier destinations for golf tourism. Each year golf tourism alone contributes to over £286 million to the Scottish economy, which can be directly linked to 4,700 jobs nationwide. But where are these visitors coming from, what is driving them, who is contributing most, and what are the trends? Recent research conducted by VisitScotland and Scottish Enterprise aims to answer some of these questions, and here at Carryway we have broken the report down into its key metrics and takeaways for you.
Where are the visitors coming from?
The recent study shows that just over half of the overnight Scottish golf tourism visits are from golfers from Scotland and the rest of the UK, with 53% of overnight visitors coming from one of the home nations. However, Scotland is shown to be a largely popular destination for international golf travel, and when it comes to overseas visitors, North America dominates with 30% of international golf tourists coming from the USA or Canada. European visitors make up 14% of overnight golf stays, and just 3% of overnight visitors travel from Asia, Africa and South America.
Their Trip
The nature of a golf trip in Scotland can be seen to vary greatly depending on where the visitors have travelled from. As expected on average, the further a visitor has travelled the longer on average they will stay. Just 23% of visitors from Europe (excluding the UK) would stay for over 7days whereas 63% of North American visitors will make their trip last over a week.
Despite golf being identified as the main reason for most visits, over 80% of the sample were recorded to have also visited additional attractions within Scotland, such as historic sites, popular walking or hiking spots, cities, shops or beaches.
Over 67% of all visitors utilised hotels for accommodation during their golf trip, with 28% also using B&B’s or Guesthouses. Only 3% of overnight golf visitors advised they had stayed in lower-priced accommodation such as caravan’s or campsites.
The Economic Value
An average of £318.12 is spent per night per person by overnight visitors. North American golf tourists are shown to be most lucrative to the Scottish economy spending an average of £579.46 per night, and staying on average longer than those from other parts of the world.
The future of golf tourism in Scotland also looks promising, with average growth of 4.3% being recorded per annum between 2008 and 2016. Additionally, the Scottish Golf Tourism Development Strategy has also set an ambitious goal to make Scotland the world’s leading destination for golf tourism by 2020.
Demand for golf buggy hire influenced by golf tourism
At Carryway, as Scotland’s dealers and hire providers for Club Car, the world’s leading golf buggy manufacturer, we have seen first-hand the demand for golf buggy use in Scotland increase. Golf tourism is arguably a significant contributing factor to this growth in demand, as overseas golfers especially those from North America demand buggy use during their visits to “the Home of Golf” as they would at home.
With golfers recorded as playing an average of a round per day during their trip, the support of a buggy is a must to ensure travellers stay fresh and energised during there visit.
Click here to learn more about Carryway as Scotland’s official Club Car dealers, or contact the Carryway team today if you would like to discuss our golf buggy solutions for your club.
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