PRESS RELEASES - 9th October 2020
NEW DATES FOR SCOTTISH GOLF TOURISM WEEK TO KICK-START 2021 GOLF SEASON
As a direct result of the ongoing uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 staging of Scottish Golf Tourism Week 2020 has sadly been postponed.
The fifth annual Scottish Golf Tourism Week event was due to be staged by PSP Media Group in St Andrews at the Fairmont St Andrews, between 5-11th November 2020. However, following consultation with international tour operators faced with little prospect of being able to travel to Scotland, organisers have sought to postpone the event.
The good news for the Scottish golf tourism industry is that new dates have now been announced with Scottish Golf Tourism Week now returning at the start of the 2021 golf season. Those new dates for the diaries for a three day programme hosted by the Fairmont St Andrews are Tuesday 30th March - Thursday 1st April 2021.
Since the inaugural event in 2016, SGTW has more than doubled in size, now putting more than 100 Scottish golf businesses directly in front of over 100 international tour operators, creating 4,000 face-to-face meetings. These direct conversations at SGTW help to forge lasting relationships that will drive more international visitors to Scotland and reinforce the country’s status as the world’s premier golf destination.
With unpredictability reigning supreme, the core objective of this year’s event was to reinvigorate the tourism industry for golf in Scotland by bringing together businesses to outline a clear path for recovery from the global pandemic. While the postponement and ongoing disruption is a short term blow, the timing of the new dates will hopefully provide a welcome boost for those industry stakeholders aiming to reclaiming lost ground in 2021.
“Scottish Golf Tourism Week has grown in scale and popularity since its launch in 2016,” said Tom Lovering, Commercial Director at PSP Media Group.
While the events of this year are a setback to the aim of hitting £300m by the end of 2020, the timing of SGTW’s return next year takes on even greater significance and importance to aid businesses planning to regain International tourism revenues in 2021.”
We will continue to monitor developments aligned to COVID-19 in the hope we can host the event in March as originally planned but we will also be exploring every opportunity in the meantime to develop contingencies for the SGTW event format to make it accessible to all. These are uncertain times but we look forward to being able to provide that platform again early next year.”
While the immediate focus for the recovery of Scottish Golf Tourism may lie closer to home, it’s important that international relationships are maintained so that the golf industry can come out the other side of the pandemic in a strong position.
The 2020 Scottish Golf Tourism week is the perfect opportunity for companies to constructively achieve a route out of the current crisis, working with others in the industry to ensure a sustainable future for golf in Scotland and to be prepared for when tourism is back on the agenda. The event takes place from March 30th – April 1st at the Fairmont Hotel, St Andrews.
For more information about the Scottish Golf Tourism Week, please visit https://www.scottishgolftourismweek.co.uk/