KPMG’s Budapest based Travel, Leisure and Tourism practice has conducted the first Golf Benchmark Survey in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMA) region. As an annual initiative, the survey aims to create benchmarking indicators for the golf industry and thereby assist golf courses in comparing their individual performance against high-, average- and low-performers within their geographical markets.
KPMG has collected over 800 questionnaires from golf courses in 27 countries in the EMA region, between May and October 2006. The results have been evaluated and analyzed, forming seven Regional Reports and one Comparative Report for the whole EMA region. The seven geographical areas include Northern Europe, Great Britain and Ireland, Western Europe, Central Europe, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and South Africa. The reports are being released on the www.golfbenchmark.com website – the regional benchmark on Northern Europe (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden) is already available, while the final study, the EMA Comparative Report will be available for download by mid-December. The findings of KPMG’s Golf Benchmark Survey will be announced at the European Golf Course Owners Association (EGCOA) Conference in Amsterdam on 23-25 November 2006.
According to Andrea Sartori, head of KPMG’s Central and Eastern European Travel, Leisure and Tourism practice, the pioneering KPMG survey will satisfy a clear market need for structured and comparable information regarding the operational and financial performance of golf courses.
“A key goal of the survey is to determine trends impacting the golf industry in different geographical regions. In the years to come, when there will be sufficient historical data, the annual Golf Benchmark Survey will support golf course owners, operators and developers in their future decisions,” he said.
While the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMA) region, with its more than 4.2 million affiliated golfers and almost 7,000 golf courses, plays a significant role in the global golf market, Sartori predicts further growth for the region.
“With increased life expectancy, improved and cheaper air transport, health and fitness awareness as well as growth in disposable income and media coverage in emerging economies, golf is expected to further develop both in terms of demand and supply,” he said.
Please visit www.golfbenchmark.com to see the forthcoming GBS reports.
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