The US destination marketing organization Brand USA has initiated a partnership with the International Association of Golf Tour Operators (IAGTO) to increase awareness and raise the profile of US golf tourism among global travelers.
The two organizations will examine marketing strategies to promote US golf tourism, starting with an online survey designed by IAGTO that will be targeted at golf courses and golf resorts across the country.
Brand USA will also promote the survey at local convention and visitors bureaus.
IAGTO’s chief executive Peter Walton unveiled details of the survey at IAGTO’s seventh annual North America Golf Tourism Convention at Palm Springs last month.
"The important first step in any integrated golf tourism strategy is to calculate the current value of golf tourism and to assess its capacity for growth," he said.
The Greater Palm Springs Convention and Visitors Bureau will be the first tourism organization to encourage golf venues to participate in the survey.
The Palm Springs area has more than one hundred 18-hole golf courses.
"I see this golf tourism opportunity as a way that Brand USA can provide value from the very smallest golf operator in a small city to our largest cities and states. It also presents opportunities for extended stays, travel with families and add-on destinations," said Tom Garzilli, senior vice-president for Global Partner Marketing at Brand USA.
The Palm Springs gathering attracted 103 golf tour operators from 23 countries, and an additional 180 representatives of golf resorts hotels and tourist boards from North America, Mexico, the Caribbean and Latin America.
London-based IAGTO advocates for nearly 600 golf tour operators in 61 countries and works with 2,400 golf tourism association members in 99 countries to promote golf destinations worldwide.
