23/03/2015

Foster Aims To Grow Value Of Golf Tourism To £50m A Year By 2020

The Enterprise, Trade and Investment Minister is aiming to grow the value of golf tourism to £50 million a year by 2020.

Launching the new Tourism Northern Ireland Golf Strategy, Arlene Foster said: "As a sport, as a business and as a tourism asset, golf operates on a worldwide scale so there has never been a better time for Northern Ireland, the Home of Champions, to formulate a new strategy to tap into its potential.

"The continuing success of our golfers, the acknowledged quality of our courses and the widespread support for the game, exemplified by the unprecedented sell-out of the Irish Open in 2012, have combined to enhance Northern Ireland’s status as an exceptional golf destination.

"Our reputation for golfing excellence will be increased further with the hosting of the Irish Open by Royal County Down this year, along with its return again in 2017, and indeed the prospect of holding the world's biggest golf tournament, The Open Championship, by the end of the decade."

(CD/IT)

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