Euan McLean, Scottish Daily Record playing at Lahinch Golf course
A group of British golf media and online influencers enjoyed some of Ireland’s championship courses and stunning views as they explored Clare and Limerick as part of a recent bespoke tour organised by Fáilte Ireland in conjunction with Tourism Ireland.
Golf tourism is a hugely lucrative sector for Ireland and has been identified by Fáilte Ireland, the National Tourism Development Authority, as a priority target as it helps prepare businesses for the impact of Brexit. The trip focussed on giving this group of influential media a first-hand experience of courses including Shannon Golf Course, the newly refurbished Adare Manor Golf Club and Irish Open 2019 host and venue, Lahinch Golf Club.
Included in the visiting media were representatives from Sky Sports who have more than 12 million unique visits to their site per month, as well as from the Scottish Sun, Scottish Daily Express and Reach Media. Agents from a number of influential online communities such as Golf Shake, and Teeuplo, popular golf website Top 100 Courses and social media influencer James Matthew Wiltshire were also part of the influential group.
Speaking about the importance of these trips, Liam Campbell, International Publicity Manager for Fáilte Ireland explained –
“Golf offers Ireland a significant opportunity to continue to attract international visitors from one of our closest markets – Great Britain – and media trips such as these offer us a unique opportunity to showcase the exceptional golfing experiences available in Ireland directly to some of the most influential golf media.
“With more than 400 golf courses on offer across Ireland, Ireland has a comprehensive offering for those looking to take a golfing holiday or short break. More than that, golf is an important high yielding market for Ireland, that spend almost 80% of their money on ‘off the course’ activities such as accommodation, hospitality and transport meaning the broader tourism sector benefits from their visits.”
Annually more than 200,000 overseas visitors play golf which contributes almost €270million to the Irish economy and accounts for over 1.7 million bed nights. Demonstrating the exceptional quality and value Irish golf provides to the British market is part of Fáilte Ireland’s efforts to encourage more visitors from our nearest market to choose Ireland for a holiday or short break.
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