GOLF bookings in the north are up 30 per cent on pre-pandemic levels, new data from Tourism NI suggests.
A new report from the tourism body has examined data from 75 golf clubs across Northern Ireland using the BRS Golf tee time booking system.
It recorded 762,575 bookings made during 2022 at those 75 clubs. The same system recorded 587,199 bookings during the whole of 2019.
The report found that the majority of bookings on the system came through tour operators. Tourism NI said that was a departure from 2019, when the data suggested more people were choosing to travel for golf in Northern Ireland independently.
According to the report, bookings through tour operators last year was up 77% on 2019.
But the report excluded rounds booked by tour operators directly with golf clubs. Tourism NI also said not all clubs in the north are included in the data, such as the 2017 Irish Open venue, Portstewart Golf Club.
The study found that green fee revenue at clubs around the north is climbing, largely due to golfers crossing the border.
Almost £2.6 million was generated last year by those travelling from the Republic to the northern clubs examined – a 237 per cent increase on 2019.
Bookings from Scotland increased by 216 per cent over the same period, with £681,000 generated in green fees at clubs in 2022.
International travel also appears to have bounced back significantly, with green fee revenues in 2022 up by 153 per cent on 2019.
The report also revealed a consistent rise in green fees generated across every month in 2022, with the largest rise seen in December when £1.4m was generated compared to £112,000 in 2019.
In total, £18m was generated in green fees at the Northern Ireland clubs included in the research during 2022, more than double the £7.2m from 2019.
However, the study showed the Covid-19 pandemic hit clubs severely in 2020, with revenues halved to £3.4m in 2020 and increasingly only slightly to £5.5m in 2021.
Tourism NI’s golf marketing manager, George Diamondis, said The Open Championship at Royal Portrush in 2019 had helped raise the international profile of the north’s golf offering.
“This can be seen through the growth in visitor tee time bookings over the last four years,” he said.
“The support to golf tour operators over the pandemic is showing dividends with a strong growth in the level of business delivered by golf tour operators.
“Targeted campaign activity to bolster shoulder season tee time bookings has also shown strong rewards.
“The Open Championship returning to Royal Portrush in 2025 will continue to build on the status of Northern Ireland as a world class golfing destination."
