International Golf Travel Market survey reveals insightful trends in European golf tourism

Golfers from Germany and Scandinavia are the most likely to have taken an international golf holiday in the past 12 months, new research has found.

The survey, commissioned by Reed Travel Exhibitions, organisers of the International Golf Travel Market, Algarve, Portugal, November 12-15, 2012, found that more than 85% of golfers in Scandinavia and Germany had taken a 'non-domestic' golf break over the past year, compared to 79% of golfers in UK and Ireland, and 70% in France.

The findings also indicate German golfers tend to stay the longest, averaging 7.5 days for golf breaks, compared to 7.2 for French golfers, 5.8 for Scandinavians and 5.7 for British and Irish golfers.

The research, being produced for IGTM by SPORTS MARKETING SURVEYS INC., focusing on Europe's four largest golf markets - UK, Scandinavia, Germany, France - confirms golfers' tendency to travel in groups. Nearly three-quarters of survey respondents said they travelled in a group of two to eight people.

British and Scandinavian golfers travel in the largest groups, the survey found, with the number of golfers per group averaging seven, compared to five in France and Germany. French golfers were almost twice as likely to travel with non-golfers in their group.

Commenting on the findings, IGTM Exhibition Manager, Peter Grimster, said: "The survey sheds a fascinating light on the behaviour of golfers from Europe's largest golf markets.

"While it is well known that UK and Ireland has the largest number of golfers in Europe, the propensity for German golfers to take international golf breaks, and their tendency to stay for more than a week, makes Germany an important target market for golf travel destinations.

"The research also underlines the significance of golfing groups, especially from the UK and Ireland, and Scandinavia, and destinations need to consider how they position themselves to accommodate these groups, the packages available and how their offering is communicated."

Cumulatively, the most popular golf travel destination for European golfers is Spain. However, Portugal was the second most popular destination for UK and Irish golfers. Notably,Germany is the second most popular destination for Scandinavian golfers, while Austria is the second preference for German golfers (German tour operators will make up 14% of exhibitors at IGTM, while 13% will be from Scandinavia).

North African countries such as Morocco and Tunisia were the most popular destination for French golfers.

A full presentation of the report's findings will be made during IGTM on Wednesday November 14 at 14.30. Copies of the published report will be available from the press office immediately after.

For more information about IGTM, please visit: www.igtm.co.uk or visit www.iagto.com