Suppliers to the Turkish market have estimated there are 2,000 regular golfers among the Turkish population, and while it is not a great golfing mass, in the year 2000 Turkey could muster only 76 golfers, no coaches and no referees. Progress, then. There are now reported to be around 150 golf coaches of some description in Turkey, although the number of golf courses has only risen to around 22, most of which are around the small town of Belek, to the east of Antalya.
Belek was developed from scratch with the precise aim of forming a golf tourism destination. Belek is built on reclaimed swampland, and while the five-star golf resorts offer great golf, facilities, service, accommodation and dining options, the town itself is in a state of grim disrepair.
The number of golfing tourists heading to Turkey have grown fast over the past decade, with almost 350,000 rounds of golf being played in and around Belek alone in 2008, by an estimated 87,250 tourists. Golfers from Germany and the UK lead the way in supporting Turkish golf, although the visiting numbers are likely to have dropped off in 2009, as the global economic crisis set in.
The peak seasons for golfing visitors to Turkey are between March and June, and between September and November.
More specific information on the golf retail trade is available in the full BGIA report. The BGIA’s three-part study into the European Golf Apparel and Footwear Market is available to purchase either in full, by individual volume or by individual country. Please email info@bgia.org.uk or call 02476 414 999 x207 for more information on the recently discounted report prices and to request executive summaries.
