Golf Directly Impacted Estimated 30,000 Room Nights in ’09 and $25 Million Tourism Impact
Biloxi, February 17, 2010: While Mardi Gras celebrations are all over the Gulf Coast this week – the golf industry is celebrating golf tourism bookings being up for spring season. Golf tourists as far away as Europe are booking tee-times and rooms at area hotels this spring at a pace of 12% ahead of last year. Consumer’s behavior has changed and they are booking so late, this increase could grow. A recent Golf Digest study found that golfers take 60% more trips and travel 62% more days than the typical affluent traveler and they took an estimated 14 million golf vacations & spent an estimated $22 billion on travel. Based on sustaining that 12% increase, this could mean 3200 more room nights and an additional 2.6 million in economic impact.
When golf visitor’s travel to the Mississippi Gulf Coast, only 20% of those expenditures is on golf, but 80% is spent on rooms at area hotels, dining at area restaurants, transportation at the local airport and entertainment including gaming.”Golf provides a tremendous economic impact and its impact is felt far beyond the golf course,” says Kevin Drum, Executive Director of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Golf Association, “Also – golf visitors come from farther away and stay longer than the typical visitor and are an attractive demographic because they are committed to golf tourism even when the economy isn’t doing well,” says Drum.
The Coast Golf Tourism Partnership, managed by the Mississippi Gulf Coast Golf Association, has over 40 hotels, casinos, condos and golf packagers as associate members. The lodging partners work together with the 14 area golf courses which fund it to increase golf tourism’s economic impact with the support of county and state tourism officials. The golf partnership produces the Official Golf Package Planner of the MS Gulf Coast, the Official Gulf Coast Golf Trail Guide and distributes over 100,0000 yearly under the trademarked brand “Golf Coast” Mississippi. This, combined with attending 16 golf consumer shows in the Mid-West, drives golf visitors to the partnerships web site – www.Golfcoast.com. This effort has earned the golf partnership over 40 awards for their efforts including “Tourism Promotion of the Year” from Governor Haley Barbour in 2005. “The entire Gulf Coast benefits from golf tourism visitors and our association’s goal has been to increase golf’s economic impact,” says Mike Buckley, President of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Golf Association, “this is a clear sign its working,” says Buckley.
For more info on the Coast Golf Tourism Partnership or to request a FREE Golf Package Planner or a FREE Golf Package Quote go to www.GolfCoast.com or call 228-374-GOLF.
