Getting into the swing of things

SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, FEB 11 -
Golf tourism has been gaining momentum in the country with international enthusiasts flocking to its all year round courses despite lack of government support.

Nepal’s mountainous and tropical backdrops make for endless golfing options for any season, and the niche product is attracting more tourists, said golf experts.

Statistics of Gokarna Forest Resort, which boasts an exclusive par 72 golf course, show that an increasing number of foreign tourists are visiting Nepal to play golf. Around 8,000 tourists played golf at the resort in 2010, an increase of over 50 percent from 5,300 golf tourists in 2009. The resort plans to increase the number of golfers through different promotional activities.

“Focusing on Nepal Tourism Year, we have planned two events. We plan to invite prominent persons as golf ambassadors from different countries, and two upcoming events, Surya Nepal Masters and Everest Golf Challenge, will be dedicated to NTY,” said Deepak Acharya, a professional golfer and golf director of Gokarna Forest Resort.

Acharya added that the resort was currently making an international tour with Nepal professional golfers in the Middle East, Malaysia, Thailand, China, Korea and other destinations for the promotion of golf in Nepal. “The tour is expected to be one of the major promotional events to promote this tourism product,” Acharya said.

The Nepal Golf Association (NGA) is also working on organizing a four-day golf tournament in September this year to mark World Tourism Day and support NTY. “The contest will see participants from over 20 countries,” said Tashi Ghale, president of the NGA.

The increasing attraction of tourists towards golf has also boosted investment in the sector. Himalayan Golf Club in Pokhara is upgrading its golf course to 18 holes. Golfers said that golf tourism was booming in Southeast Asia as a niche tourism product that could help any country to showcase other tourism attractions and attract foreign tourists in the off-season also.

“We met tourism secretary Kishore Thapa a week ago and we have been assured that the government would support golf tourism,” said Ghale. He added that the NGA had sent a letter for the promotion of golf three times to the Nepal Tourism Board but there has been no reply.

With tourists expected to grow in the next few years, golf could be an attractive product for Nepal to meet the need of the visitors said Ghale. He added that Nepal’s golf courses were not of international standard. Nepal needs at least three (18-hole) golf courses. “If the government provides land, investors are willing to invest in golf in Nepal.”

As of now, there are seven golf courses in the country, four of them outside of the Kathmandu Valley. According to golf experts, golf tourists spend on an average US$ 400-500 per day, roughly seven times more that what an average tourist spends.

According to them, 52 percent of travelling golfers are likely to take two or more golfing holidays in a year, and they spend on an average 33 percent more on their holidays compared to regular holidaymakers.

Golf is a different segment business, and it needs different marketing tools in the international arena, said Arjun Prasad Sharma, president of the Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents. “Golf tourism has huge potential in Nepal as high-end tourists from across the world are the major customers of this sports tourism activity.”

Although the National Tourism Council (NTC) of Nepal has highlighted developing golf tourism as a potential tourism product, no efforts have been made by the Tourism Ministry, said Ghale. The NGA has proposed setting up training centres, but the ministry was not interested.

The golf courses in the country are Gokarna Forest Golf Resort (18 holes), Kathmandu, Nepal Golf Club (9 holes), Kathmandu, Himalayan Golf Course (9 holes), Pokhara, Yeti Golf Club (9 holes) Pokhara, Nirvana Country Club (9 holes), Dharan, CG Golf Course (9 holes), Nawalparasi and Nepal Army Golf Club in Kathmandu.

Experts said that China and India have realized the potential of golf tourism and every year new golf courses are constructed. In China, they have started diverting their concern from agriculture to sports tourism, specifically golf courses, as it makes good economic and employment sense.