21 September 2012
Fáilte Ireland are this week hosting the annual International Media Masters golf event in the North West. This annual golf competition, which commenced in 2001, has grown in popularity and is now one of the highlights with golf writers worldwide. Currently, a group of 19 high-profile international golfing journalists, from eleven countries including Europe, North America, India, China and South Africa, have arrived in the North West to play a selection of links and parkland golf courses to experience the great value the Region has to offer for golfers.
The group are touring around a number of top golf courses in Sligo and Donegal and, in the evenings, sampling the best of Irish hospitality, food and music.
Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Michael Ring T.D., commented:
"Visiting media tours, including these top Golfing journalists at the Media Masters, are crucial to our selling of Ireland abroad. During 2011, these type of media tours generated broadcast and print coverage of Ireland all around the world – with an estimated advertising value of €270m.
“With regard to golf, we are very fortunate to have a great product and some of the very best links and inland courses in Ireland are located in the North west
. By providing these international journalists with the type of hands-on positive experience that the North West can offer, we hope that the coverage created will help to spread the message that Ireland has much to offer the golfing visitor both on – and off – the greens”.
Martina Bromley, Fáilte Ireland's Head of Operations in the North West, added:
"We believe that our golf product is among the best in the world and recent studies have shown the great potential of golf for tourism as estimating that the typical overseas golf tourist is worth almost three times the value of the average tourist to Ireland and, with approximately 155,000 overseas visitors playing golf while in Ireland, this amounts to a total estimated spend of €204 million per annum.
It is important that we fully promote what is available by assisting these journalists in showcasing what Ireland has to offer. This will certainly encourage and help maintain Ireland’s reputation as a destination for high quality and challenging golf.”