Golf tourist bonanza driven by Open
GOLF tourism is set to enjoy a 50% boost over the next five years, thanks in part to the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.
The annual fairway-related spend in the region is around £10m.
But tourism bosses said yesterday they will add another £5m to that by 2013.
Their target was announced just before the first swing of the Open Golf Championship today.
Over the next four days, 156 of the world's top golfers will try to get the better of what's being called the finest links course in the world.
Without world number one Tiger Woods and injury fears for the reigning champion, Ireland's Padraig Harrington, the competition is wide open.
The draw of the Open is being used to pitch the region's golf offer under the banner of "England's Golf Coast" (EGC).
EGC is a campaign run by the inward investment agency The Mersey Partnership (TMP).
Martin King, director of tourism at TMP, said analysis of the market shows there is room for the growth.
He added: "England's Golf Coast has huge potential to increase the money it generates for the tourism economy in the North West. That's currently £10m a year.
"A specially commissioned report prepared by IMG consulting for TMP estimated that if we succeeded in doubling the number of international golf tourists to 16,000 between 2005 and 2009 we would benefit from an economic impact of £26m.
"That's an ambitious but achievable target if we continue to market the product."
TMP do not have a firm figure for how many "international golf tourists" visit the region, but say domestic play is up 60% year-on-year.
Matthew Allen-Chilman, head of golf at Formby Hall Golf Resort and Spa, is predicting a 20% uplift in the number of rounds of golf his Merseyside-based regulars will play before the end of this year.
He says the average number of rounds played by golfers will rise from 100 to 120. Mr Allen-Chilman said: "We've experienced unprecedented demand for the golf course since mid-January."
The Open's potential as a networking event, Mr Allen-Chilman added, was encouraging businessmen to hone their skills. His PGA academy staff do one-to-one training on course, but they have also been called to people's homes for more "discreet" training.
It is hoped this boost in home-grown golf will be sustained after the Open leaves town.
Visitor numbers to this year's Open will not be included in the 2008 statistics to ensure the figures are not skewed.
But David Hill, director of championships for organisers the Royal and Ancient, said yesterday the region was going down well with foreign golf fans.
"Southport is a great place. About 40% of the people coming here this week are from outside the North West of England.”
The TMP's 2013 deadline will be just after the Open returns to the North West, when it comes to Royal Lytham St Annes in four years' time.
