The Asia Pacific Golf Group (APGG) reports that ‘finally’ the golf industry in Southeast Asia will have properly researched data to help it navigate through what is potentially one of the largest markets on the Asian continent.
This is going to be made possible by a ground-breaking initiative spear-headed by the Asia Pacific Chapter of the CMAA (CMAAAPC) and Melbourne-based Golf Business Advisory Services (GBAS) headed up by Jeff Blunden and supported by the Asia Pacific Golf Group.
The key findings are due to be reported to the Asia Pacific Golf Summit at Singapore in November
The ‘2014 Southeast Asia Golf Industry Survey’ is being conducted in ten countries over a two month period.
“We will be reaching out to a good cross-sectional sampling of golf course owners, operators, general managers, golfing managers, course superintendents, golf architects, the golf trade and national tourism organisations to obtain a good fix on the spread of the industry and a number of important trends vital to understanding the state of the industry,” revealed Jeff Blunden. “We are starting from ground zero and we want to make certain that we get things done right from the outset.”
This inaugural industry survey will form part of an on-going commitment to research by the CMAAAPC. “The club industry in the region that we are responsible for can expect more specialised research projects to be launched from now on,” revealed Sylvan Braberry, chief executive officer of the CMAAAPC.
The countries that are being covered include the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Indonesia.
“This is a massive market of 600 million people and a collective GDP that comes in over two trillion U.S. dollars,” pointed out Braberry. “The survey will be very comprehensive and will serve up data that has heretofore not been available to the golf industry.”
In addition to the Golf Industry Survey, Jeff Blunden is carrying out the ‘Inaugural Asian Golf Consumer Survey’ and the Inaugural Asian Golf Course Architects Survey.
Commenting on the Consumer Survey, Mike Sebastian, chief executive officer of the Asia Pacific Golf Group said, “This is another ground-breaking undertaking and marks the beginning of a major effort to map the Asian golf industry insofar as the consumer is concerned.”
More than 20,000 known golfers will be involved in this survey and the countries covered will include Japan, Mongolia, South Korea, China, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
The full questionnaire for the Asian Golf Consumer Survey can be viewed at the following link: http://media.apggnews.com/emailers/cmaa/survey/cmaaapc-gbas-survey-consumerposter.html
Asian Golf Course Architects Survey Launched
In another ground-breaking move, the inaugural Asian Golf Course Architects Survey has also been launched. Commenting on the survey, Jeff Blunden says, “The timing for this much needed survey could not have come at a better time especially with golf course development generally slowing down to a virtual standstill in many developed parts of the world.”
The survey will reach out to more than 200 golf course architects worldwide and the focus will be primarily on architects who are already working or are committed to projects throughout Asia for the immediate future.
The full findings of this and the other surveys will be disclosed at the 2014 Asia Pacific Golf Summit which will be staged at the iconic Marina Bay Sands Hotel in Singapore on November 14-15.
“The release of all this information will be a major milestone in the evolution of the golf industry in the region and it will herald a new era in the way the business of golf is conducted,” declared Braberry.
Asia Pacific Golf Summit www.golfconference.org