Dubai to be golfing hotspot

HOT DESTINATION: Dubai is predicted to be one of the most popular golfing destinations in the future. (Getty Images)

Dubai will be one of hottest golfing destinations in the whole of Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) in the future, despite the emirate having the most expensive green fees in the region, KPMG said on Wednesday.

The professional services firm said in a report on golf travel that Dubai came fourth in a list of which destinations were predicted to be the most popular in the coming years, behind Portugal, Spain and Turkey.

The emirate made it into the top four even though a weekend round of golf costs on average 560 dirhams ($153), compared with $99 in Portugal, the second most expensive, and$38 in South Africa, the cheapest destination.

The study, which surveyed more than 80 specialist golf tour operators in 21 countries, was conducted in spring 2008.

KPMG said the typical holiday golfer played four to six rounds of golf on their typical week-long break, sampling between three and five different courses and spend an average of $316 per day on the trip - only a quarter of which was spent on golf itself.

The firm said at the time of the survey tour operators reported a confident outlook with 90 percent expecting the sector to keep on growing, nine percent predicting stagnation and only one percent forecasting a decrease.

Print | Email | Discuss this article |

READERS' COMMENTS

Click here to post a comment

Add your Comment All posts are sent to the administrator for review and are published only after approval. ArabianBusiness.com reserves the right to remove any comment at any time for any reason. Please keep your responses appropriate and on topic.
Name *
Remember me on this computer
Email *	(Your email address will not be published)
City
Country
Subject *
Comment *
Notify me of further comments
Security Code *
Please click post only once - your comment will not be published immediately.

MORE FROM ARABIANBUSINESS.COM