Sky Sports golf presenter Sarah Stirk assisted a Fáilte Ireland drive to grow golf business in the British market as the national tourism agency pitched to a group of more than 50 lucrative corporate and incentive buyers at an event that took place at the Foxhills Club in Surrey on 5 September.
The British attendees represented companies who send over 5,000 people on corporate and incentive trips each year, and represent potential business worth up to €5 million. Fáilte Ireland, throughout a day of talks and demonstrations, sought to persuade these incentives buyers that as golf is a particularly popular incentives activity, Ireland's golfing offering is the best destination worth considering.
Golf already generates an estimated 1.6 million bed nights in Ireland every year and golfers are worth an estimated €200m to the economy. Golf tourists are also estimated to spend more than the average leisure tourists and are considered high worth targets for tourism.
Speaking ahead of the event, Fáilte Ireland head of business development Paul Mockler said, “We have some of the best golf product in the world and our golf offering provides us with a compelling calling card by which we can meet any softening in the British market. Furthermore, many of our finest golf courses are located outside of the main tourism hotspots and a high percentage of our golfing tourists travel to Ireland outside of the summer season. Therefore, targeting this market with this product will help us to develop a greater regional spread of visitors and generate activity throughout the year.”
