A Strategic Review of Golf Tourism in Northern Ireland 2015 - 2020

A Strategic Review of Golf Tourism in Northern Ireland | 2015 - 2020
Events to consider bidding for
Looking beyond 2020, consideration needs to be given
to the benefits and opportunities presented by hosting
other major golf events to build on the momentum of
the current events portfolio and to further enhance
Northern Ireland’s international profile. A key ambition
of the Northern Ireland Events Strategic Vision is to
bid for/host at least one major global event within
Northern Ireland each year.
Northern Ireland has a robust golf events calendar
through to 2020 and does not need to host any
additional major events prior to 2020, other than those
already committed. The major global events Northern
Ireland might consider bidding for beyond 2020 will
further enhance Northern Ireland’s profile on a global
stage and help promote the golf tourism product.
There are three events to consider:
• The Ryder Cup: the first bidding opportunity is 2026
• The Solheim Cup: the first bidding opportunity
is 2019
• Ricoh Women’s British Open: the first bidding
opportunity is 2017 with further opportunities
beyond 2020
Three criteria are key to deciding which events to bid for:
1. Prior to 2020, what else is happening in Northern
Ireland in golf events? Currently Northern Ireland
does not want or need more than one major tour
event each year;
2. The economic value of the event: the economic
value of the Ricoh Women’s Open is substantially
less than The Irish Open, or The Ryder Cup; and
3. The costs of bidding and succeeding in hosting a
major tour event
Expressing interest in bidding to host golf events is
a powerful message, endorsing Northern Ireland’s
commitment to hosting global events, their importance
in profiling the destination and the importance of golf
tourism to Northern Ireland’s economy.
The headline benefits for each of the events is
summarised in Appendix 4.
Prestigious Amateur Tournaments
Consideration also needs to be given to the
opportunities for hosting high-profile amateur golf
tournaments. These events are managed by the R&A
(Male) and the LGU (Female). Examples of these
events include:
• The Walker Cup
• The Curtis Cup
• The Amateur Championship (held at Royal
Portrush and Portstewart in 2014)
• The Boys Amateur Championship
As a showcase of the best amateurs and emerging
future professional champions, these tournaments
are an excellent medium for raising the profile and
awareness of golf participation and development.
However, these events tend to generate limited press
and media interest, have limited spectator interest and
some TV coverage, but not in all key markets.
These events are a good way of “supporting the
game” and will get coverage amongst the UK’s
specialist golf press. However, with finite financial
resources, these should not be considered as priority
events for golf tourism.
The Ryder Cup: the first
bidding opportunity is 2026