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Scottish golf tourism could be on the rise

North golf courses like Castle Stuart hope to welcome a host of new players from China.
North golf courses like Castle Stuart hope to welcome a host of new players from China.

Golf tourism is on the verge of a potentially massive new market as relaxed visa rules allow affluent Chinese more freedom to travel.

And north of Scotland courses are joining the drive to attract the visitors from the orient.

A new survey of millionaires in China found that golf is the favourite sport of its well-heeled globetrotters.

And separate research by VisitScotland recently revealed that Chinese tourists spend more than others, averaging £770 each on trips to Scotland.

Until recently, it was more difficult for Chinese tourists to come to this country because Britain was not part of the European Union’s Schengen agreement.

This meant Chinese tourists could visit 26 European countries on one visa, but for Britain they had to fill out a separate application form. As a result France typically received 10 times as many Chinese tourists than the UK, although surveys found more interest in visiting the UK than France.

Recently relaxed rules however, will allow Chinese to travel here in groups of five or more, now that the UK has been granted “approved-destination” status.

Golf tourism is already estimated to be worth more than £220million per year to the Scottish economy.

A delegation from the Highland Golf Links (HGL) network has just returned from the China Golf Show in Beijing where it made its pitch for more Chinese golfers.

Nairn Golf Club’s Fraser Cromarty, group chairman, said: “We wanted to go out as a group to test the market and see what it was looking like for the future.

“It’s still problematic for the Chinese to travel, so it will be interesting to see what does happen.”

George Sorial, executive vice-president of the Trump Organisation which is expanding its Aberdeenshire golf complex, said: “This is great news for the Scottish golf community.

“We’ve welcomed golfers from all over the world and we look forward to hosting Chinese golfers at our site in Aberdeen. The Chinese golfing market has become huge, so the ramifications are tremendous.”

Royal Dornoch Golf Club general manager Neil Hampton said: “The Chinese able to travel have tasted it and really enjoyed it and are telling their friends this is the place to come.”

Monica-Lee Macpherson, chairwoman of the Chinese Association of the Highlands and Moray, said her countrymen and women love to play golf here for two fundamental reasons: “It’s cheaper and the air is clear.”