North Carolina tourism officials are expecting a big uptick in golfers state-wide following the successful staging of the 8th North America Golf Tourism Convention.
The event at Pinehurst Resort organized by the International Association of Golf Tour Operators, welcomed more than 400 delegates including a record 158 golf tour operators originating from 29 nations around the world.
Visit North Carolina executive director Wit Tuttell expects an immediate boost in golf related travel as a result of the event.
"It has been really good. Pinehurst has given us the initial recognition for the golf market and this event has just opened up all the other areas of the state and what we have to offer to the tour operators. They have all been very surprised. I don’t think many of them had a picture in their mind of what North Carolina was like.
"This convention has given us the opportunity to showcase the state and show them that we have more than 500 golf courses. The tour operators are creating a lot of itineraries for North Carolina and the South and hopefully that will translate into room nights. I hope this will result in a lot more international visitation and people playing a lot of the other golf courses we have."
Delegates were also treated to familiarisation tours to Greensboro, the Outer Banks, Fayetteville and around the Village of Pinehurst.
"This is the first time we have brought the North America Convention to North Carolina and we have been blown away, not only by the enthusiasm of the state tourist board, but also by the eagerness of many regional CVBs to get involved," said IAGTO chief executive Peter Walton.
Next year’s North America Golf Tourism Convention returns to Florida’s Trump National Doral in June 2017 where the inaugural event first took place back in 2009.
