The diverse and world-class golf course portfolio of Abu Dhabi is set to be showcased to the world in a grand fashion as Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi) has lined up an ambitious golf tourism drive to strengthen the UAE capital’s standing as a world-class golfing destination.
The new effort will target golf markets in Europe, China, India and across the GCC as well as across the UAE.
TCA Abu Dhabi is set to get into full swing through the establishment of a Industry Development Committee (IDC), supported by Abu Dhabi’s leading golf courses, tour operators, hoteliers and destination promotion agencies.
The focus of the marketing drive will be a new dedicated golf portal on visitabudhabi.ae, the official Abu Dhabi destination promotion website.
The portal will serve as a one-stop-shop to connect tourists with a range of golf holiday options and direct booking tools connected directly to the emirate’s golf industry professionals.
The IDC is also focused on facilitating networking opportunities for the leading golf courses and tour operators ahead of the build up to the busy winter season.
Sameer Taher Bagaber, IDC Golf Clubs Chairman and Section Manager, Strategy & Policy Department, TCA Abu Dhabi, said: “Abu Dhabi is now perceived as one of the world’s foremost golf destinations, and through our ‘Golf In Abu Dhabi’ initiative, we have been able to attract visitors to the emirate to enjoy our golfing experience by growing awareness of the diversity of our courses.
“Our international golfing footprint is also widening and visitors are becoming increasingly sophisticated in how they research and book their stay.
So, by expanding the availability of golf information and direct booking access via the visitabudhabi.ae website represents a significant regional competitive advantage and broadens the opportunity to extend our golf tourism message to other regular website users.”
With over 4.5 million visits and over 100,000 active users of the associated mobile apps, visitabudhabi.ae will host individual pages for each of the emirate’s golf clubs in nine languages.
All global awareness activity will drive users to the site, which will also feature unique content from Matteo Manassero, the Golf In Abu Dhabi Ambassador.
A priority for the IDC Golf Clubs group is to expand the number of worldwide tour operators featuring Abu Dhabi’s golf proposition in their marketing campaigns and brochures.
Targeting activities in the UK, Germany, France and Italy, the European golf market has been identified as one of huge growth potential, with a series of joint marketing promotions on the cards.
The IDC will also be working closely with clubs and tour operators to develop packages in the emirate, with the popularity of ‘night golf’ a particular focus.
In the US, golf tour operators will be targeted to expand their Abu Dhabi availability, while in India and South Africa, awareness campaigns aimed at consumers are expected to drive an increase in leisure golf travellers.
The global promotional activity will also be supported by regular golf content across the array of visitabudhabi social media channels, digital advertising and regular newsletters to more than 65,000 subscribers.
In 2014, Abu Dhabi’s leading golf courses – Abu Dhabi Golf Club, Yas Links Golf Club, Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, Abu Dhabi City Golf Club, Al Ghazal Golf Club and Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club – hosted 139,175 rounds of golf, of which 20,757 were from international overseas guests. In 2011, this figure stood at 6,674.
