Egypt is looking for a huge boost in the number of golfers travelling with golf teaching pros and using the country for winter holiday training. It is targeting the sector following ringing endorsements by touring professionals for the excellence of its courses and the superb practice and academy facilities both in Cairo and on the Red Sea.
With guaranteed sunshine, an unhurried approach and top-draw facilities, Egypt has long been a popular destination for groups of golfers travelling there for a golf holiday with a teaching pro. On the back of hugely-successful winter events for satellite tours of the PGA European Tour’s Challenge Tour, Golf Travel Egypt’s Mohammed Attallah says that hosting teaching pros and their students is an area where Egypt wants to become a real leader in Europe.
Attallah, Golf Business Development Director of the private sector initiative that is backed by the Egyptian Tourism Authority and the Egyptian Golf Federation and endorsed by the international golf tourism industry body, IAGTO, points to comments made by some of the pros who have enthused about Egypt after recently playing in tour events there. He also highlights the fact that Egypt offers “the best possible conditions where teaching pros have everything they need to develop the relationship with their golf club members in the winter months.”
IAGTO Chief Executive Peter Walton concurs, adding that one of the findings of IAGTO’s Golf Tourism Audit in 2011 was that Egypt’s courses were blessed with excellent practice facilities, one example being Madinat Makadi, which has extra par 3, 4 and 5 holes just for tuition. “Another example would be the state of the art academy facilities at The Allegria Golf club and Katameya Dunes, where golfers have access to facilities such as K Vest Biomechanics software and analysis, Flightscope and Sam Putting Lab on site”.
Walton continued: “Destinations aiming to attract teaching pro-led groups need to be able to offer an experience that is comfortable in a relaxing environment and where the golfers do not feel under pressure on the course. Egypt has the capacity on its golf courses to provide exactly this with established resort destinations on the Red Sea and the option to mix up golf, tuition and sightseeing by combining the Red Sea with Cairo.”
Egypt is also stepping up opportunities for touring golf professionals with a new tournament series in February and March. The country already hosts several events for up-and-coming professional golfers on the Pro Golf Tour and Alps Tour circuits, both of which are regional satellite tours of the PGA European Tour’s Challenge Tour. Now it has launched a home-grown tour taking place solely in Egypt – the Mediterranean Tour.
Golf Travel Egypt http://www.cttegypt.com/golfinegypt.aspx