1. Golf in Colombia
THE PRODUCT
Michael Elcock
CESO
PROEXPORT

2. BUT FIRST-Some Questions
► WHAT do you know about the international GOLF
TOURISM industry?
► A. How many people play golf?
► B. How many of them travel overseas to play golf?
► C. How much do they spend?

3. The Answers
► A. More than 56 million people play golf.
Between 5% and 10% travel overseas each
year – at least once.
► B. Value of the Global Golf Tourism market
is US $ 17,000,000,000. (I.A.G.T.O.)
► Value of International Golf Tourism Market
is US $850,000,000-1,700,000,000.

4. What do they spend it on?
► KPMG – Golf Travel Insights – 2012
► Travel 21%
► Accommodation 28%
► Golf 26%
► Food & Beverage 10%
► Other (shopping, etc.) 15%

5. Most popular destinations
► Espana
► Portugal
► Escocia, Irlande y Inglaterra
► USA
► Turkey
► Italy
► Thailand & Vietnam
► France
► South Africa
► Dominican Republic & Argentina

6. Biggest Golf Travelers?
► Americans
► Canadians
► British
► Scandinavians (mostly Swedish)
► Germans
► BUT, nearly 80% of Americans travel within the
US to play golf. (E.g. NY to Florida, or Arizona)

7. Key Factors in Decision making
► 1. Quality of golf courses
► 2. Price of Golf package
► 3. Accessibility.
► 4. Number of golf courses.
► 5. Quality of Accommodation.
► 6. Climate.
► 7. Entertainment.
► 8. Golf tradition.

8. So – what does Colombia have?
► 1. Quality of Golf courses 10/10
► 2. Price of package ??
► 3. Accessibility 5/10
► 4. Number of Golf courses 6/10
► 5. Quality of Accommodation 10/10
► 6. Climate 10/10
► 7. Entertainment V. Good
► 8. Golf Tradition 8/10
► PLUS - Some very rare USP’s that nobody in North
America or Northern Europe has got.

9. What I see when I look at the
Golf Tourism Product in
Colombia.

32. El Turista de Golf.
Escocia

33. Golf – Escocia – August 2011

34. Who is the Market?
► Who do you think is your potential Golf
Tourist?
► What socio-economic Sector?

35. Golf is played by wealthy people in Colombia.
But wealthy Colombians are not your market.
There are wealthy – luxury – golf tourists in
your potential markets. But most golfers in
your main markets are likely to be middle
income. Many will be retirees.

36. ► In Escocia they thought they knew their market.
► Really, they just expected tourists to come because it
was Escocia - the home of Golf. They were lazy
about their market.
► They only woke up when they realised how much
market share they were losing to Ireland – and also
to Spain and Portugal.
► So last year they conducted the most detailed
research study they have ever done on Golf Tourism.
They were very surprised at what they discovered.

37. Introduction
►The objective of this research was to
create golfer typologies , in order to
help to target communications and
marketing activities.
►Golfers were segmented according to
their attitudes and motivations
towards golf, as well as their behaviour
towards golfing breaks and holidays.
►8 golfer segments were created from
this research.

38. Attitudes Towards Golf
Breaks In Scotland Research
Golfer Typologies
Prepared for:VisitScotland
By Scott Porter Research & Marketing
June 2006
► http://www.visitscotland.org/pdf/golfer_ty
pologies.pdf

39. Colombia’s Golf (& Activity) Tourism
Market?
► I can tell you what I think – but my opinion is
educated guesswork, based on my
experience.
► Colombia needs to do what they have
(finally) had to do in Scotland.
► Without market research (and evaluation)
you don’t know if you are spending your
marketing budgets well - or not.

40. Colombia’s Market Potential
(My Opinion)
► 1. Families (Golf Plus . . .)
► 2. Middle Income
► 3. Retirees (Golf PLUS . . .)
► 4. Luxury Golfers
► 5. Serendipity (Golf PLUS …)

41. Assets for Golf Tourism
1. Very high quality golf courses in Colombia. As
good – and better – than many, many courses in
the US and Canada, and in the other main golf
tourism markets.
2. Recreation & sports facilities that you will not find
in the US, Canada, Scotland, Ireland, England.
(You will find a similar range of all-round sports
facilities in Germany, Spain & Portugal – but they
are usually inaccessible to the tourist visitor. Very
few of them are of a similar standard to what you
have in Colombia.)

42. Potential Limitations
A. Shortage of Direct Flights from your
main markets.
Air Canada: Toronto-Bogota
Iberia: Madrid – Bogota
Jet Blue: NY – Bogota (November 2012)
KLM:
Avianca:

43. ► B. Internal (domestic flights).
► Communication from airline to passengers
is not always good.
► Travel between cities in Colombia can be
unnecessarily complicated.
► (Tour Operators are important elements in
requiring good standards of service.)

44. Advantages
► 1. Your people.
► 2. Product quality.
► 3. Product Diversity.
► 4. Cost of Golf & Recreation facilities is very
reasonable for visitors. Cost of golf club rentals
AND caddy are reasonable.
► 5. Exotic birds, vegetation, wildlife. Excellent eco-
tourism products.
► 6. Year-round Climate.

45. MARKETING
FOR GOLF (AND RECREATION)
► QUESTION # 1:
► How are the potential Golf Tourists going to
find out about Golf in Colombia?

46. Golf/Activity Vacation Research
► Most golf tourists do their destination
research on the Internet.
► Therefore information must be available in
English, and – in time – in Swedish, German
& French too.

47. Question 2:
► Who makes the decisions about where to
go if a Family is going on a vacation?

48. DECISION MAKER
► Often it is the son or the daughter.
► Father & Mother are busy.
► The kids do the research ON-LINE. They
can have a major influence on where
the family goes.

49. Advance Booking Time
► Over 50% of Golf Tourists will book 1 to 6
months ahead.
► More than 25% are booked more than 6
months ahead. (These are usually group
bookings.)

50. Brief Profile of Consumers
► Consumers are predominantly male. The majority are middle aged (40-55) or
retired (55+). Professional and managerial groups dominate the sector. Golf
tourists are likely to be members of golf clubs at home.
► United States: Golf participants are generally affluent, they have a higher than
average annual income. 65% of American golfers earn over $50,000 a year.
65% of golfers are over 40 years of age and 80% are male.
► United Kingdom: Golfers are mainly (78%) male. 62% are aged between 35-60
and 42% are from a more affluent socio-economic grouping.
► Canada: Predominantly male. Average age 48 years. The Canadian consumer
tends to combine golfing with business trips. Likely to be well educated with a
graduate or undergraduate degree. The Greater Toronto Area is a key
generating area.
► France: 65% are male, although 70% of golfing tourists will travel with their
partner or spouse.

51. Some Inexpensive Marketing
Opportunities
Golf magazines
Travel Golf.com - http://www.travelgolf.com
Travel and Leisure Golf - http://www.travelandleisure.com/tlgolf
Golf Today - http://www.golftoday.co.uk
Broadsheet newspapers like the New York Times (in the US) and The Times and Daily Telegraph (in
the UK) are good options for marketing and distribution. The are read by professionals in the right
socio-economic group.
USA Today - travel section - http://www.usatoday.com/travel
New York Times - travel section - http://travel.nytimes.com
The Times (UK) - travel section - http://travel.timesonline.co.uk/to/life_and_style/travel
Telegraph (UK) - travel section - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel
Faz Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (Germany) - http://www.faz.net
Also, Direct Promotions targeted at golf clubs and their members can be effective.

52. Social Networks
The Golf Space
http://www.thegolfspace.com
19thHole.com – Social network for golfers
http://www.19thhole.com
IGolf.to – Social networking portal.
http://www.igolf.to

53. Trade Fairs
National Golf Expo
United States
February
http://www.paragonexpo.com/213.html
The Vancouver Golf & Travel Show
Canada
February
http://www.vancouvergolfshow.com
PGA of America
http://www.pga.com
International Association of Golf Tour Operators
http://www.iagto.com

54. Organisations/Institutions in
the Caribbean
Caribbean Golf Association (CGA)
http://cgagolfnet.com
Other regional sub-organisations exist - such as the TTGA
(Trinidad and Tobago Golf Association)
http://www.trinidadandtobagogolfassociation.com

55. Website
►A Single Portal Website is essential
for Colombia’s Golf & Activity
Tourism Product and all its
supporting components
(accommodation, transportation, restaurants
& food services, sports stores, social
activities, etc.)
► There are some good examples of effective
designs available.

56. Follow - up
► Repeat business is a lot easier than new business.
► The little things are important to ensure that you
get repeat business.
► The follow-up – maybe 2-3 times a year to a
previous guest (by email). A gentle message to
say that you are thinking of them. (To go out
during the planning ‘window’.)
► If I get a message like that from a golf club I will
very likely play there again.
► Most travelers actually like to stay in familiar
surroundings when they ravel to distant places.

57. Tour Operators
► Essential to Golf/Activity/Eco Tourism in
Colombia.
► Tour Operators provide interpretation for
social, cultural and linguistic needs. They
help to establish a ‘comfort zone’ for
tourists.

58. Partnerships
► Essential for a young industry like Golf
Tourism in Colombia.
► The further away you spend your marketing
money, the more it costs and the less
effective it becomes.
► Good Partners can make the marketing
money go much further.

59. How do Partnerships Work?
► For the purposes of Golf Tourism, marketing
partnerships can be either:
► Incentive-based. Commissioned or
salaried.
► Reciprocal. What can I give you to
balance what I need from you?

60. How do you find good
Partners?
► You know the story:
 You get a partner and everything is fine for a while.
 Then the partner slacks off and nothing more happens.
 So we blame the partner. But the hand that points the gun has
three fingers that point back at us.
► The fact is, there are lots of companies out there who want to partner
with you BUT very few who will be the RIGHT partner for you.
► Rule # 1: Horses for courses. Make sure that the core
strengths of your partner corresponds with the areas where you have
need.
► Often that will be in the same areas where you have core strength in
your own country/area of operation.

61. ► The right partner(s) must share a
vision with you.
► Their objectives have to be compatible with
yours.
► Sounds obvious? So why are those simple
facts often ignored?

62. ► To be successful a partnership MUST share
a Strategy.
► That does not come by itself.
► An effective strategy needs work
from all the partners in an enterprise.
► It takes time, research, intelligence and
hard, focused work.

63. So: Simple Rule # 2:
► Partnerships take time and a lot of hard
work.
► They don’t just happen because you signed
an agreement or a contract.
► Partnerships have to be built. This takes
time. It is like developing a friendship. And
the core ingredient of a friendship is trust. It
takes time to develop trust

64. Rule # 3: Communication
► Must be regular and honest.
► Communication is absolutely critical to a
successful partnership.
► Regular strategy meetings are essential. Can be
done via teleconferencing. (Small operators can
use Skype.)
► These are part of a regular monitoring and
evaluation process
► Partners need to set reasonable performance
goals that they can agree on. And then monitor
progress, and evaluate results.

65. Monitoring and evaluation
► Key elements of any successful partnership.
► Without MONITORING you do not have an accurate idea
of your performance.
► Without EVALUATION you cannot improve your product
or adapt it to changing circumstances.
► In a partnership it is important to do this from the
very beginning , so that questions about the outcome of
the partnership (AND the money and time that has been
spent on it) can be answered - AND the added value of
the partnership’s work can be made visible.

66. ►Questions about performance will arise
not only from outside, but also from
inside the partnership.
►Partners need to demonstrate
where and how they are
successful – and if they are not, they
need to indicate how their strategy is to
be changed.

67. How do you find the Right
Partner?
1. Some basic questions for you both:
► What is the aim of the partnership? Does it make sense?
► What are the partnership's specific goals and objectives?
► What can the partners achieve working together rather than
separately?
► Which organizations—& types of organizations—can you most usefully
work with?
► What are the measures of success?
► How will the partners work together?
► How will information be shared? (Procedures and Practices.)
► How will the partnership be funded initially and over the long-term?
(This may be obvious, but it is an important part of the process.)
► What is the timescale? Different timelines must be reconciled. (E.g.
Government may work on 3 to 5-year plans. Private sector and civil
society participants may work on different time horizons.
► Where will the partnership focus its efforts, both initially and over the
long-term?

68. Some basic questions to ask
the potential partner:
► Are there any areas where you need help?
► What are your needs?
► What kinds of assets could you bring to help us in what we
are trying to do?
► What are your strengths and weaknesses?
► How are you perceived in your field, community or country?
► How would you improve your own relationship/image with
the community?
► If you could change something about your company what
would it be?
► If I could show you a way to address the needs you
mention, would you be interested?

69. Different types/levels of partnerships
► Appropriate partners will be dependent on the size, reach
and mandate of an organisation.
► Obviously organizations like
 Proexport
 Hotel Chains
 Small hotels
 Tour Operators
 Golf Clubs
will each attract different kinds of partners.

70. Examples of Potential Partners
for Golf AND Activity Tourism
to Colombia
1. Small Group Tour Operators (Intrepid [Australia – but worldwide];
GAP [Canada}; Abercrombie & Kent; TAUCK; Imaginative Traveller
[UK].
2. Adventure Tour Operators. They must be relevant to the market
segments you are targeting. (Adventures Abroad; Overseas Adventure
Travel [US]; The Adventure Company [UK])
3. Companies that specialize in Website—Direct Package Sales.
THIS IS ESSENTIAL.
4. Some Travel Agent networks, groups & chains. (The Travel
Network [Canada]; MyTravel [UK])

71. Other Important International Golf
Tour Operators
► Golf Holidays - United States (San Diego)
http://www.golfholidays-online.com
► Golfbreaks.com - United Kingdom
http://www.golfbreaks.com
► 4Golf.com (UK)
http://www.4golf.com
The INTA Group. It has several subsidiary companies including BillGoff
Holidays, Teetimesanywhere.com, Longshot Golf and Jack High
Holidays. This group is the UK's largest golf travel specialist, with over
25 years travel experience.
► Direct Golf Holidays ( Spain)
http://www.directgolfholidays.com
Email: info@directgolfholidays.com

72. Partners for Bigger Organisations
 Airlines: Air Canada, KLM, British Airways, Jet Blue,
United Airlines, American Airlines, Thomas Cook, Air
Transat, Avianca.
 Travel Agent chains – Marlin, UK High Street
chains.
 MICE Travel Planners & Operators.
 Organizations like the American Assoc. of
Travel Agents (ASTA)