Abu Dhabi on course for big slice of Asian golf tourism

Abu Dhabi’s place among the world’s elite golfing destinations seems assured after new figures showed a surge in visitors to the city’s courses in the first part of this year.

Numbers released by the Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi) on Saturday revealed Abu Dhabi Golf Club, Saadiyat Beach Golf Club and Yas Links recorded 9,215 overseas rounds during the first quarter of 2013 – their highest ever and an 89 per cent increase on last year.

Having amassed 20 per cent of the UAE’s overseas rounds between January-March last year, Abu Dhabi’s three championship-ready clubs’ quarterly contribution this year constitutes almost a third of the nationwide total.

With other emirates are experiencing mixed fortunes, Abu Dhabi’s sterling performance ensured the number of overseas rounds played across the country was 90 per cent up on the corresponding period in 2012.

The news comes hot on the heels of major players in Asia’s highlylucrative golf tourism sector lauding Abu Dhabi’s success in attracting Asian golf tourists at the 2nd Annual Golf Tourism Convention – an annual trade event founded by the International Association of Golf Tour Operators (IAGTO) – in Pattaya, Thailand.

Peter Walton, chief executive of IAGTO, said: “Golf in Abu Dhabi has demonstrated once again how the initiative is striking the right chord with tour operators in the Asian market. Abu Dhabi is a great product, a complete product, with impressive ambition and it is encouraging to see successful results from its golf tourism sector and from key Asian territories.”

Kevin Wang, vice general manager of Grand Tours, one of China’s biggest outbound golf tourism specialists, added: “We are hearing great reports from the clients we are sending to Abu Dhabi.

"These word-of-mouth endorsements are making Abu Dhabi an even easier sell for us and I expect the emirate’s popularity to continue rising. I foresee sending ever-larger volumes of Asian golf travellers to Abu Dhabi over coming seasons.”

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