This year’s International Golf Travel Market, which was held this week in Rome from October 17-20, has been hailed as the biggest ever gathering of the golf travel industry in the show’s 25-year history.
According to Reed Exhibitions, IGTM’s organiser, over 1,000 participants, including 450 of the world’s top golf courses, resorts, hotels, tourist boards and destination management companies from 50 countries met with over 350 tour operators and travel agents, creating some 14,000 meetings over the course of the three-day show.
This year’s event also marked the biggest attendance by international golf travel media, who, for the first time, were able to take part in the pre-scheduled appointment system, meeting with exhibitors during the show.
Participants came from countries as diverse as Italy, Mauritius, South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, Slovakia, Spain and Qatar, representing thousands of courses with buyers from more than 40 countries.
David Todd, Event Manager, IGTM, RX Global, was delighted with the turnout and the response from those attending. He said: “What an event. We knew that the resilience, innovation, and community spirit that this industry has shown during the turmoil of the past few years would make for an event that has exceeded our expectations. Thank you to everyone that has taken part this week.”
Martin Hardenberger, Editor in Chief of Swedish Golfmagasinet, commented: “I truly have been around the world of golf in three days and have sourced enough content to inspire me and my travel pages over the next 12 months. The meetings have been professional, interesting, and friendly. I am looking forward to joining once again next year.”
At the same time, representatives from Troon International, Mauritius Tourist Office and Egypt Tourism Board presented their golf destinations to journalists at daily press conferences, while Richard Payne, director of the newly-rebranded Sports Insights, formerly known as Sports Marketing Surveys, presented some informative data on golf tourism trends from around the world.
Attendees took part in a variety of networking events throughout the week, including the annual official IGTM golf day where players experienced four top courses in Rome, including Marco Simone — home of the Ryder Cup 2023— as well as Olgiata Golf Club, Golf Nazionale, and Golf Club Parco de’ Medici.
There was also a well-attended welcome drinks reception held on Monday evening at the magnificent Palazzo Brancaccio in the centre of Rome, where representatives from various Italian tourism bodies welcomed guests to the city and to IGTM.
The show itself was held at the La Nuvola, a modern purpose-built convention centre located several miles south of the centre of the city, with bus transfers laid on between the various delegate hotels.
Exhibitors and buyers expressed overwhelmingly positive reactions with this year’s event for their future business following what has been a particularly challenging time for the travel industry.
Craig Blue, Assistant Market Development Manager for UK & Golf at Visit Scotland, commented: “This has been a great show to reconnect with the golf industry from across the globe and we’ve met with 60-70% new tour operators. COVID has given people a chance to take stock on what’s important to their business and clients, which has been the basis of our conversations this week.”
Melissa Porzak, Travel Advisor with Protravel & Protravel Golf Travel, commented: “IGTM Rome has offered the golf travel industry the very best opportunity to network. The relationships established have been instrumental in providing my clients with exceptional travel experiences. It has made my job easier when navigating golf travel.”
Giles Greenwood, Sales Representative of Qatar Tourism commented: “This has been my 18th IGTM and one of the best yet. The meetings have been more business-focussed than ever before.”
Justine Beach, Chief Marketing Officer at Golfbreaks, commented: “It was great to meet tourist boards and get deeper into conversations for 2023. IGTM gives our team an invaluable networking opportunity and we’re all looking forward to returning next year.”
Cynthia Ontiveros, Special Segments Manager at Los Cabos Tourism Board, said: “This has been a great show for us, as we continue to grow our international golf offering, with a focus on clients from Switzerland, Sweden and the UK. We have built many new contacts this week as well as reconnecting with established ones.”
Kheyraddin Jabbarov, Director of Golf, Quba Palace Hotel in Azerbaijan, commented: “Being an emerging golf destination with two new golf offerings, this event has been crucial to meet new faces, create relationships and do business to bring the international markets to Azerbaijan.”
Patrick McCaghy, Group Managing Director of Golf Travel Group, commented: “This IGTM has been noticeably the biggest event so far, with so much diversity in the product showcased. This event is vital for us to build relationships and share recommendations with our clients.”
Hosting this year, Alessandro Onorato, councillor for Major Events, Sport, Tourism and Fashion of Roma Capitale, commented: “We are glad that the most important gathering of the golf travel industry took place in Rome just under a year before the 2023 Ryder Cup.”
Reed Exhibitions has announced that next year’s IGTM, and the one after, will be held in Lisbon. David Todd, Event Manager of IGTM, explained the reasoning behind staying at the same venue for two year. “After the biggest IGTM to date this week, we’re looking forward to spending not one, but two years of IGTM in Lisbon in 2023 and 2024. This will be the first time our attendees will be able to get to know the venue and its surroundings next year and then think ahead to also plan their own extended networking events for 2024 and maximise the number of business opportunities IGTM offers.”
Paula Oliveira, Executive Director of Turismo de Lisboa Visitors & Convention Bureau, said: “It is with great pleasure that we welcome participants to the next IGTM in Lisboa. We are honoured with the trust placed in Lisboa for the organisation of this important event, an excellent promotion opportunity for the city and region.”
IGTM Lisbon 2023 will be held from October 17-19. More details will be available at www.IGTMarket.com over the coming months.