KPMG

With its 15 golf clubs and approximately 6,300 golfers, Turkey at the moment represents a golf market in infancy that still relies heavily on international golf tourism. However, in light of a promising macroeconomic outlook for the near future, with its fast developing tourism industry and favorable climatic conditionswe believe that golf in Turkey has a great development potential.

In the spring of 2010 KPMG’s Golf Advisory Practice queried all golf course owners and operators currently active in Turkey regarding the operational performance of their facilities in 2009, and their expectations for 2010.

Some key highlights of our findings include:

• Supply for and demand of golf in Turkey is mainly concentrated in the Belek region (Antalya). With 11 golf clubs and a total of 450,000 rounds played at these facilities in 2009 (17% growth as compared to 2008), Belek represents one of the fastest growing Mediterranean golf tourism destinations;
• Currently, there are more than 2,000 members at various golf clubs in Turkey,out of which approximately 80% are affiliated with golf clubs in the Istanbul region. Only about half of the courses in tourist regions offer a membership scheme;
• With an average of 25,600 rounds played at an 18-hole (or equivalent) golf course, Turkey is the best performing market for golf among the emerging golf destinations we have surveyed in the Mediterranean;
• While in the Istanbul region over 90% of rounds are played by members, at courses located in tourist regions only about 3% of the rounds played are member rounds with the rest generated by green fees;
• More than 85% of golf course owners and operators in Turkey indicated that they have not been affected by the recent economic downturn and 90% of them have positive expectations for 2010.

Download our report to find out more.