I think the European Tour Properties will return next week to the International Golf Travel Market (IGTM) with great pride. They have added this year 6 new golf clubs to their portfolio of prestigious golf venues.
Now boasting 22 members, including the next two European Ryder Cup hosts – Le Golf National, Paris, in 2018, and Marco Simone Golf and Country Club, in 2022, which was added earlier this year – the exclusive network of world class venues all have the stamp of tournament quality.
Besides Marco Simone, the five other venues to become European Tour Properties in 2016 are:
- Constance Belle Mare Plage, Mauritius – European Senior Tour’s MCB Tour Championship host with a breathtaking beachfront Indian Ocean location
- TROIA Resort, Lisbon, Portugal – home to a world-class Trent Jones Snr links-style layout with a stunning peninsula backdrop
- Bom Sucesso, Obidos, Portugal – featuring a Donald Steel-designed Championship course in a unique lagoon setting
- Lighthouse Golf & Spa resort, Cape Kaliakra, Bulgaria – home to a dramatic clifftop course designed by Ian Woosnam, overlooking the Black Sea
- Albatross Golf Resort, Prague, Czech Republic – host of the D+D Real Czech Masters and renowned for its exemplary conditioning.
This continued growth of the European Tour Properties’ network underlines its position as a leading golf and real estate brand. This was further enhanced in 2016 as 11 of its members featured in the prestigious listing of Continental Europe’s finest golf resorts, compiled by the UK’s Golf World magazine.
Are the European Tour Properties prepared to the trends of 2017?
- “Instagramable golf course” – People are fixated on the curation of their image in social media. Let’s enable them to do so. It is also a good way to promote our golf course. Therefore, the question is how soon can we turn our golf course mobile friendly.
- Extreme wellness – People will not be totally satisfied with regular wellness/fitness solutions. They want something that challenges their mind and body.
- Pro-shop concepts that help personal growth – Golfers want to learn and discover more about the products. This is not just a question of technology, but it is also about a collaborative relationship between the golfer and the PGA pro/store representative.
- Influencers are entering to the golf tourism – Will they recommend your golf club? So, it is time to take seriously influencer marketing. Do you know who has the biggest influence on your potential customers?
- Streamline services – just like in the hotel industry, I expect that digitalized concierge services will come to the golf industry that can deliver personalization.
- Aromatic immersion – one of the things I really liked in the Novotel Schiphol Hotel in Amsterdam (the EGCOA 2016 Golf Business Conference was held there) is that when I entered the hotel, I felt a very pleasant fragrance. It immediately improved my mood.