New partnership to boost Australian golf tourism

New partnership to boost Australian golf tourism
By admin


A new partnership between Accor and Great Golf Courses of Australia has teed off with a range of itineraries to boost the golf tourism sector.

Launched at the Australian Tourism Exchange in Sydney yesterday, the deal will see four of Accor's 13 golf courses become associate courses of the Great Golf Courses collection, while GGC clients will receive preferential deals at Accor hotels nationwide.

Tourism Australia managing director, Andrew McEvoy, highlighted the success of GGC which runs at 200 rounds per month with group bookings from a mixture of emerging and traditional markets.

He anticipated the tie-up with Accor would take golf tourism to the "next level".

"Not only are they one of the leading hotel groups in Australia, but they also boast some of the country's top golf courses, alongside quality accommodation," he said.

"This is an ideal match up and one which I think has the potential to further integrate golf into the broader visitor experience."

China will be a particular focus for the partnership, with more than 40 of Accor's Australian hotels and resorts having introduced its China Optimum Service Standards program. Accor Pacific vice president Simon McGrath revealed.

"The Great Golf Courses of Australia program is indicative of the increasing diversification of Australia's inbound product," he said.

A number of other Asian countries are also showing "encouraging potential", he added, with traditional golfing markets also to be targeted.

GGC chief executive Elizabeth Sattler said Australia's "visually spectacular courses" and high quality golf product gave it a good opportunity to grow its share of the international gold tourism, estimated at $26 billion annually.

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