Golfing tourism boost predicted following Lowry win
Fáilte Ireland is predicting a great boost to Ireland’s golf tourism sector following Shane Lowry's fantastic victory at The Open, Royal Portrush Golf Club on Sunday.
The Clara native took home the Claret Jug after a six shot victory over England's Tommy Fleetwood, a win writing him into the history books and earning a cool 1.7 million euros in the process.
No details of any homecoming for Lowry have been confirmed as of yet, but it seems likely to take place towards the end of the week.
On the back of the success of The Open, Fáilte Ireland says a group of top US golf media are extending their stay in Ireland to play at some of Ireland’s championship courses as they explore Donegal, Sligo and Monaghan.
Included are writers and broadcasters from Yahoo Sports, CBS Radio Washington DC, WPPB Radio New York, GolfAdvisor.com, Golf Vacations Magazine and Links Magazine.
Organised by Fáilte Ireland, in conjunction with Tourism Ireland this opportunity will showcase some of the best golf courses in the North West and hidden gems along the Wild Atlantic Way. The media group will visit Cruit Island Golf Club, Donegal Golf Club, Narin and Portnoo Golf Links, the County Sligo Golf Club at Rosses Point and Concrawood Golf and Country Club, Monaghan.
Speaking on the importance of hosting key golf media, Rory Mathews, International Publicity Executive for Fáilte Ireland explained:“With more than 400 golf courses throughout Ireland golf plays a significant part in Irish tourism. We provide world class courses, great value for money and fantastic holiday experiences to our international visitors. Ireland is famous for having a third of the world's links courses and our parkland courses have hosted some of the biggest golfing events on the planet, such as the Ryder Cup in 2006”.
“That is why we are happy to support, together with our colleagues in Tourism Ireland, the visit this week of these top US golfing media to experience the wonderful array of golf courses in Donegal, Sligo and Monaghan. We believe that golf can deliver increasing numbers of tourists into Ireland and we will ensure this happens by concentrating on developing relationships with key golf media.”
Annually more than 200,000 overseas visitors play golf which contributes almost €270million to the Irish economy and accounts for over 1.7 million bed nights. Demonstrating the exceptional quality and value Irish golf provides to the US market is part of Fáilte Ireland’s efforts to encourage more visitors from the US to choose Ireland for a golfing holiday