Golf visitors will appreciate a little local help when they arrive, so going that extra yard will not only help our guests, it will help reinforce why Northern Ireland is Made For Golf. Do a little research on event ticket details, tee-off times, players, facilities and transport so you become their go-to destination for info. You can keep an eye on the golfing events here.
Golf Tourism & Marketing in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland has firmly established itself as one of the most sought-after golfing destinations for visitors from across the world.
Following the hugely successful hosting of The 148th Open Championship at Royal Portrush in 2019, the eyes of the golfing world will be returning to Northern Ireland again with the eagerly awaited Amgen Irish Open at Royal County Down in 2024 and The 153rd Open Championship taking place at Royal Portrush in 2025.
Northern Ireland’s status as a golf destination has continued to grow with record-breaking spending by visitors in 2023, with over 29,000 golfers travelling here to play golf.
Golf Tourism
By working with international tour operator led organisations, hosting media familiarisation trips, facilitating workshops and attending golf promotions, Tourism NI is promoting the NI golf product to a global audience.
Tourism NI also have a role in product development, working with golf clubs and associated bodies to ensure the golfing visitor has a quality visitor experience throughout their trip.
Find out more about golf at discovernorthernireland.com/golf
Golf Marketing
The Tourism Northern Ireland Golf team is here to support the Golf industry in Northern Ireland, facilitating connections between buyers and suppliers to help you create inspiring itineraries that will ensure you stand out in your market showcasing that Northern Ireland is Made for Golf.
Toolkit
In this section, you can gain access to our products and key golfing information. You can also access our annual golf guide to give you more information on the itineraries already in place and key attractions and accommodations that you can add to your trips to provide your clients a giant experience.
With our world ranked players as well as our world class Golf Courses, Northern Ireland has much to be proud of.
We’ve got some of the best golf clubs in the world, 90 in total, all somehow squeezed into about 5,460sq miles of lush landscape. It means this place really excites golf visitors. And we should all be excited about that. Golf tourism drives money into local businesses and our economy. It generated £68.2m in 2023 and we can expect to see that continue to grow over the coming years.
Tee it up for golf visitors
Let's give golf visitors the round of a lifetime in Northern Ireland. When we go the extra mile as hosts, our golfing guests hurry back. and they encourage their golf-crazy friends to visit too.
How can I help my golfing guests?
Know the events
Know the courses
Everybody looks for a little insider-info. And golfers want to know about courses more than anything else. So find details about our famous courses and your local gems. They'll want to hear about yardage, signature holes, facilities, booking methods and the clubhouse. You can find out all you need to know on our courses here.
As if further proof was needed, many of our courses have been accredited with a Golf Quality and Assurance award. The accreditation is designed to certify quality assured Golf Courses in meeting and exceeding customer expectations. These awards raise the bar when it comes to standards at golf clubs, with a particular focus on customer service. Having these high standards for our golf industry means you can enjoy the experience at every step, from the welcome and reception you receive, clubhouse facilities and services as well as the golf course itself.
Know the '19th hole'
Pointing visitors towards the top local bars and restaurants is always a great way to enhance their golf getaway. The more you can offer, the more guests will recommend you to fellow golf fans they meet.
Marketing Opportunities
Tourism Northern Ireland’s Golf Marketing team creates engaging trade platforms for golf tourism and hospitality businesses to meet and do business with international Golf Tour Operators.
Each year Tourism NI attend both trade and consumer facing events across all key markets, offering opportunities for industry to meet and connect with the international golf trade and an international golfing audience. The registration for these events is sent out throughout the year via our recruitment platform, please keep up to date with news and events, including golf events by signing up here.
Golf trade shows provide a valuable platform to promote your business to tour operators who organise golf trips in Northern Ireland. We are delighted that trade and consumer shows are safely returning to in person events. Where necessary the golf marketing team will continue to provide virtual platforms also.
Upcoming golf trade events 2024
- PGA Merchandise Show, Orlando, 23-36 January 2024
- Asian Golf Tourism Convention, Abu Dhabi, 19-23 March 2024
- IAGTO European Convention, Spain, 13-15 May 2024
- IAGTO North American Convention (NAC) Michigan, 17-19 June 2024
- IAGTO Golf Ireland Convention, Republic of Ireland, September 2024
- Irish Golf Tour Operator Association (IGTOA) Conference, Sligo Republic of Ireland, October 2024
- International Golf Travel Market (IGTM) Portugal, 14-17 October 2024
Professional Tournaments 2024
- NI Open, Galgorm Golf Club, 25-28 July 2024
- Amgen Irish Open 2024 - DP World Tour, Royal County Down, 12-15 September 2024
Amateur Tournaments (some events tbc)
- Causeway Coast Tournament, 3-7 June 2024
- Great North Links Challenge, 18-20 October 2024
Provisional Ryder Cup Consumer Stands 2024 - Industry places will be confirmed as and when we have them.
- Porsche European Open, Germany, 30 May - 2 June
- Volvo Car Scandinavian Mix, Nordics, 06-09 June
- KLM Dutch Open, The Netherlands, 20-23 June
- BMW international Open, Germany, 04-07 July
- Amgen Irish Open, Northern Ireland, 12-15 September
- BMW PGA Championship, Great Britain, 17-22 September
- Cazoo Open de France, France,10-13 October
- DP World Tour Championship, UAE, 14-17 November
There may be additional consumer shows which we will recruit for directly as and when we have more details.
In addition to trade and consumer events, there is an opportunity for businesses to promote any Stay & Play offers and upcoming tournaments via the team. Please submit your interest via email to golf@tourismni.com and visit Discover Northern Ireland here to browse current offers.
Northern Ireland Golf Tourism Monitor
The Tourism Strategy for Northern Ireland highlighted the opportunity for growing golf tourism nationally and internationally to position Northern Ireland as a premier golf destination.
The heightened interest and publicity from the successes of Northern Ireland’s three Champion golfers as well as the hosting of world class events has elevated the destination on the global golf map.
It is vital that this growing demand is converted into an accurate evaluation of current golf business to Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland Golf Monitor provides robust data and trend to help formulate and shape future growth of the Northern Ireland golf product.
In 2023, Northern Ireland welcomed 29,000 visitors and the Tourism NI annual Golf Tourism Monitor showed that the overall economic impact of Golf Tourism reached £68.2 million. This is the highest on record, and well above the £52 million in 2019, which saw the return of The Open Championship at Royal Portrush.
This highlights the immense offering to international markets and how our local businesses help to showcase the best of Northern Ireland.