{"id":21716,"date":"2016-07-04T14:29:27","date_gmt":"2016-07-04T14:29:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/andaluciagolf.com\/key-factors-in-golfers-research-and-booking-of-holiday-destinations\/"},"modified":"2016-07-04T14:29:27","modified_gmt":"2016-07-04T14:29:27","slug":"key-factors-in-golfers-research-and-booking-of-holiday-destinations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/andaluciagolf.com\/en\/key-factors-in-golfers-research-and-booking-of-holiday-destinations\/","title":{"rendered":"Key factors in golfers’ research and booking of holiday destinations"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

A new survey detailing the most important factors influencing golfers\u2019 research and booking of holiday destinations is launched today at the International Golf Travel Market<\/a> (IGTM).<\/p>\n

Commissioned by Reed Travel Exhibitions, organisers of IGTM (November 12-15, 2012, Algarve, Portugal), and produced by SPORTS MARKETING SURVEYS INC<\/a>., the research reveals that \u2018friends\u2019 recommendation\u2019 remains the single most influential factor in consumers\u2019 initial research of where to take a golf holiday.<\/p>\n

The survey of 9,500 regular golfers (those who play at least 10 times a year) in the United Kingdom & Ireland (UK&I), Germany, Scandinavia and France found that \u2018specialist golf tour operators\u2019 are the second most influential factor, especially in UK&I.<\/p>\n

Golf magazines are the third most influential factor overall, taking into account the size of the UK&I market \u2013 the largest in Europe \u2013 but the second key influencer for golfers in Continental Europe.<\/p>\n

Looking at the factors influencing consumers\u2019 research is important, notes SPORTS MARKETING SURVEYS INC. as more than 60% of golfers surveyed booked their holidays independently \u2013 50% of them online \u2013 rather than through a specialist or non-specialist tour operator.<\/p>\n

The top 10 factors influencing research of golf holiday destinations are:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Friends\u2019 recommendation<\/li>\n
  2. Specialist golf tour operators<\/li>\n
  3. Golf magazines<\/li>\n
  4. Online tour operators<\/li>\n
  5. Golf professional recommendation<\/li>\n
  6. Online blogs\/reviews\/golf networks<\/li>\n
  7. Reviews\/advertising on television<\/li>\n
  8. Outdoor advertising<\/li>\n
  9. Social media<\/li>\n
  10. High-street tour operators<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \u201cWhat\u2019s striking about this research is that the majority of golf holidays are now booked independently and online, yet the key factor influencing golfers in their initial research remains friends\u2019 recommendation, a trusted source of information and first-hand experience,\u201d said IGTM Exhibition Manager, Peter Grimster.<\/p>\n

    \u201cThe importance of word-of-mouth, from friends and golf professionals, underlines the importance of customer service as guests become ambassadors for that destination or resort. In short, the venue\u2019s reputation will be shaped significantly by customer experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

    While the wider travel market has seen the growing influence of social media, it would appear that social media is not a rapidly growing factor in golf, with little change year-on-year.<\/p>\n

    However, the research reveals that UK&I golfers are the most likely to have used some form of social media to research their break \u2013 30.6% stated they used social media, with Tripadvisor being the most popular outlet (21.2%).<\/p>\n

    In Continental Europe, 15.9% of Scandinavian golfers used social media, 20% of French golfers and 14.1% of Germans. Tripadvisor was the most popular for French golfers (10.2%) and Germans (6.6%), while travel and tourism forums\/chat rooms were the most popular for Scandinavian golfers (6.7%). <\/p>\n

    \n

    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    A new survey detailing the most important factors influencing golfers\u2019 research and booking of holiday destinations is launched today at the International Golf Travel Market (IGTM). Commissioned by Reed Travel Exhibitions, organisers of IGTM (November 12-15, 2012, Algarve, Portugal), and produced by SPORTS MARKETING SURVEYS INC., the research reveals that \u2018friends\u2019 recommendation\u2019 remains the single […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":983,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[125],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/andaluciagolf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21716","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/andaluciagolf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/andaluciagolf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/andaluciagolf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/andaluciagolf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21716"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/andaluciagolf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21716\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/andaluciagolf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/983"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/andaluciagolf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/andaluciagolf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/andaluciagolf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}