The Golf Travel Mart brought together from 04 to 06 August under the aegis of the Thailand Tourism Office (TAT) foreign buyers and golf professionals in the seaside town of Hua Hin located 250 km south of Bangkok. The objective: to attract even more players and show that the country has become in the space of a few decades, one of the biggest golfing destinations in the world.

  • Thongchai Jaidee - Photo: DR

With more than 250 internationally renowned courses spread across the country, Thailand has become the favorite destination for golf in Asia and one of the most important for world tourism. The legendary mild tropical climate allows professional and amateur golfers to play all year round, with a preference for the dry season between November and February. The incredible diversity of landscapes and courses designed by the greatest architects, the use of the most recent technologies for the maintenance of greens, infrastructures and equipment and the constantly renewed skill of the battalions of gloved and hatned caddies have allowed the 'recent organization of numerous prestigious international tournaments such as the European Royal Trophy, the Asian Golf Championship, the Thai LPGA, or the Thai Golf Championship. Today, golfers flock to the four corners of the planet with their families and friends to take advantage of the extraordinary Thai hospitality (Thainess) but also to discover its culture, its spirituality, its natural riches, its offers of traditional massages and taste its multiple and amazing culinary specialties.

700 foreign golfers

Building on this success, the Thailand Tourism Office (TAT) organized the Golf Travel Mart from August 04 to 06 at the Dusit Thani Hua Hin Hotel. The objective of this show was to connect more than 153 tour operators and specialized buyers from all over the world with Thai tourism and golf professionals (travel agents, golf managers, hoteliers, restaurateurs, spa managers or OEMs). The Mart is an excellent opportunity for buyers and the media to familiarize themselves with the Thai golf market which is developing a very high quality offer from Bangkok to Chiang Mai via Hua Hin, Phuket and Pattaya. In 2013, around 700 visitors mainly from Japan, Korea, Europe, India and China came specifically to Thailand to play golf generating 000 billion baht in turnover revenue i.e. around 10 M €. A growing reputation which has enabled the provinces of Pattaya and Hua Hin to be named “Golf Destination of the Year for Asia and Australia by the IAGTO (International Association of Golf Tour Operators) in 246 and 2012. It is not surprising in these conditions that the 2014e IAGTO Asia Golf Tourism convention takes place next year from April 24 to 26 in Chiang Mai in the North of Thailand.

My shopping cart is a woman

In Thailand, foreign customers particularly appreciate the know-how, discretion, courtesy and knowledge of the field of shopping carts, whose impeccable outfits despite the sometimes sweltering heat immediately inspire respect. “One of the specificities of Thailand is to use the services of specially trained female caddies to guide and accompany our golfers on all types of courses. Through the Thailand Tourist Board, which financially supports the Amazing Thailand Singha Caddy Championship, we want to develop the practice of golf among women and demonstrate that Thailand is a land of golf for all players, regardless their level. The city of Pattaya is also known for hosting the Honda LPGA which brings together the 50 best female golfers in the world in February ” reminded Tanes Petsuwan the director of TAT for Europe, Africa and the Middle East. With the sale of villas and the development of new five-star hotel and leisure facilities near the courses, the Thai authorities have understood all the benefits they could draw from the golf market. Currently in Thailand, a classic tourist spends around 130 euros per day for his stay against more than 400 euros for a golfer, including transport, green fees, rental of clubs and golf cart, shopping cart, tips, meals , massages and of course accommodation ...

David RAYNAL in Hua Hin in Thailand