Tourism campaign to make Scotland world's best golf destination

SCOTLAND will launch a new tourism campaign which aims to make it the world’s leading golf destination.

This year a report estimated that tourism around the sport generates £220m a year and the new Driving Scotland Together strategy hopes to increase the amount to £300m by 2020.

The country invented the game and boasts many of the world’s finest courses including Gleneagles, which hosts the 2014 Ryder Cup, and St Andrews which hosts the Open in 2015.

The campaign aims to promote and develop the courses and regions around the major tournaments to encourage those visiting the big tournaments to return again.

Stewart Walker, chairman of industry body Golf Tourism Scotland, said: “There is no doubt that the golf tourism industry in Scotland already has the greatest collection of assets anywhere in the world as well as an enviable history and heritage in the game.

“What this strategy is designed to achieve is ensuring all partners involved in growing the golf tourism industry are working together in order to sell and market Scotland as the home of golf to its full potential.

“Each partner involved in the strategy brings an area of expertise to the table and together we can ensure that Scotland is known as the must-visit golf destination in the world and grow the value of the industry to the economy of Scotland.”

Tourism Minister Fergus Ewing said: “Golf in Scotland has never been more in the spotlight thanks to an envied schedule of world-class events taking place at the home of golf.

“These events are played on many of the world’s top-ranked golf courses but Scotland also has many hidden gems too, giving golfers of all levels a variety of courses to play.

“These events, including the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles, bring with them a terrific opportunity to highlight Scotland to hundreds of millions of potential visitors worldwide and to grow what is already a hugely important sector in terms of income generation for Scotland.

“The collaborative approach between various organisations in pulling this strategy together is exactly what Scotland’s golf tourism sector requires and demonstrates that we are all working towards one single aim: to make Scotland the must-visit destination for every golfer.”

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