A group of golf industry journalists from the United States and Europe, along with a group of Teaching Professional Golfers from the United States, are participating in a major fam trip to promote ‘Golf in a Kingdom’. The tour is taking them to some of the popular golf courses of Bangkok, Patty, Hue Him and Chiang Mai.
Mrs Juthaporn Rerngronasa, Tourism Authority of Thailand’s Deputy Governor for International Marketing (Europe and the Americas), said, ‘This year, we have set a strategy to expand quality tourists by stepping up our promotions of the golf tourism market. In times of recurring and unpredictable crisis, the TAT needs to continue to attract market segments which still have the desire and the means to travel. Golf tourism is one such segment.”
The Teaching Professional Golfers from the United States are here to survey several golf courses and to also get ideas for organising golf holiday packages.
A separate group of leading golf industry journalists from the United States, Canada, UK, Italy, Sweden and Denmark have been visiting some of the popular golf courses of Bangkok, Pattaya and Chiang Mai, in addition to experiencing a variety of cultural and tourist attractions.
James Mason from the UK’s Golf Monthly and planetgolfreview.com said, ‘This is my first visit to Thailand and I am pleasantly surprised by the huge variety and excellent standard of their golf courses. I would give these courses 8 out of 10 for their condition with no hesitation. ’
Peter Swain a respected freelance journalist working for the Daily Telegraph in England commented ’The caddie experience which is unique to Thailand, is a huge bonus and a lot of fun, which only goes to back up what are fine quality courses in the first place.’
Steven Hahn, a Golf Course Ranking Panelist with Golf Digest added, "Having travelled, over thirty years, to more than a hundred cities around the world in search of great golf courses, I would be hard pressed to name a golf destination, outside of Thailand, that offers such a combination of superb golf courses and great cultural sightseeing. The hotels are world class and the restaurants are fabulous. As a couples golf retreat, Thailand is perfect."
Golfing has become a major component of Thailand’s increasingly diverse tourism product. There are over 200 high standard golf courses nationwide, many of them championship level, created by the world’s top designers including Jack Nicklaus, Robert Trent Jones Jr, and many others.
Mark Siegel CEO of tour operators Golfasian said, ‘We are delighted with the number of top class golf editors, journalists and golf professionals who have travelled here this week. We plan to include more of these trips in the future, to spread the word that ‘Golf in a Kingdom’ is a totally unforgettable experience for all members of the family.’
For more information regarding Thailand’s golf, check out www.golfinakingdom.com
Source: Golf in a Kingdom release dated 1 April 2011
Credit: Tourism Authority of Thailand (www.tourismthailand.org)
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