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Ireland Promoting Golf Tourism
At This Year’s Ryder Cup |
Ireland is “using the Ryder Cup competition shamelessly to promote its golf, especially to big-spending Americans,” according to Jeffrey Stinson of USA TODAY. The “message is inherent in the buildup” to the event, as banners “showing a golfer in mid-swing and declaring ‘Let’s play’ line city light poles” and corporate sponsors air TV ads with Irish golfers at “traditional backdrops.” The goal is to “boost Ireland’s $6.5[B] tourist industry by raking in a government-estimated $164[M] directly from the Cup and attracting some 60 million golfers spending an estimated $620 a trip in coming years.” Ireland’s “target audience goes beyond the 40,000 spectators expected each day” at the Kildare Club. Promoters know the “worldwide TV audience will tune in and see not only the matches but also the commercials, countryside and attractions.” Ireland Arts, Sport & Tourism Minister John O'Donoghue said of the event, “It’s not just about golf. The entire culture and heritage of the country is placed on the world stage” (
USA TODAY, 9/20). James Dunny, a spokesperson for Failte Ireland, the national tourism development authority, said, “The real value of the Ryder Cup to Ireland is not just the immediate economic benefits but the opportunity to place Ireland on a world stage and position it as one of the premier golfing destinations in the world.” In Manchester, Andrew Culf noted almost US$4.5M has been spent promoting Ireland on U.S. and European TV (
Manchester GUARDIAN, 9/19).
SECURITY: PGA European Tour Exec Dir George O’Grady said that profit at this year’s event “may not reach the [US$18.8M] the tournament made four years ago” at the Belfry in central England because of “extra security and related costs.” BLOOMBERG NEWS’ Louisa Nesbitt notes the 400 inhabitants of Straffan, just outside of Dublin, are “outnumbered by 500 police who have sealed off the village with a two-kilometer cordon.” Ryder Cup organizers have “banned cameras and mobile phones from the site, even though Telefonica SA’s 02 is one of the event’s sponsors.” No alcohol is allowed and ticket holders without ID “will be turned away” (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 9/20).
PLANNING AHEAD: Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher said that he and a state delegation of 11 others are “visiting Ireland this week to gather ideas for throwing the ‘best Ryder Cup ever’ at Louisville’s Valhalla Golf Club” in ’08 (Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL, 9/20).
