Golf tourism insights

1. Scottish Golf Tourism and Visitor Strategy 2022 – 2030

The strategy was developed to help shape and support the future of the industry from 2022 to 2030. The Scottish Golf Tourism Development Group (SGTDG), in consultation with the golf tourism industry, took the lead on this.

It includes an overview of the golf tourism market, a SWOT analysis of Scottish golf and case studies.

3. Scotland Golf Visitor Survey 2016 - Executive Summary

• Typically golf visitors to Scotland are enthusiastic and skilled golfers. 79% played at least once a week, while 85% were a golf club member. More than four fifths (83%) reported having a handicap, with the average for the whole sample being 13.5.
• For over three quarters (79%) of overnight visitors, golf was the main purpose of their trip.
• The age profile of golf visitors is skewed to the older age groups. Over three quarters of golf visitors were aged 45+, with the 55-64 age range accounting for almost a third (32%).
• Across all golf visitors (including day and overnight visitors), approximately two thirds were from the UK and one third was from overseas. However, amongst overnight visitors there was a more equal split between domestic (53%) and overseas visitors (47%). 
• Half of all visitors (50%) lived in Scotland and almost a further fifth (19%) lived in the rest of the UK.
• By far the largest of the overseas markets was the USA, which accounts for 17% of visitors overall and 27% of overnight visitors.