Lack of second golf course results in contract cancellation
A Swedish company specialising in golf tourism has cancelled a contract that would have brought 1,200 tourists to Malta after the members of the Royal Malta Golf Club (RMGC) turned down its proposal because it impinged too heavily on already limited...
A Swedish company specialising in golf tourism has cancelled a contract that would have brought 1,200 tourists to Malta after the members of the Royal Malta Golf Club (RMGC) turned down its proposal because it impinged too heavily on already limited playing slots.
Sources said the contract would have meant over Lm350,000 being chipped into the economy (excluding flights), of which Lm75,500 would have gone to the golf club.
The company Golf Plaisir organised trial packages to Malta in March, which involved a one-week stay at the Radisson St Julians with seven days of unlimited golf. They were an instant success and the company filled 40 double rooms, even turning people away. The RMGC facilitated the trial by agreeing rates per round that were only 40 per cent of those charged to a normal visitor, making the package highly sought after. However, the golf course in Marsa - which is 60 per cent the size of normal golf courses - can only offer 5,200 slots a year to visitors and the influx of these Swedish golfers requiring over 5,000 slots just for themselves made it almost impossible for the RMGC's 750 members to find slots to play themselves, particularly on busy weekends, and effectively barred any other visitor to Malta from playing golf.
In an effort to try and ease the problem, Golf Plaisir proposed to halve the number of people it would handle each week and to launch the programme this month, running through the lean winter months until the end of May next year.
In the meantime, the club also took the opportunity to once again highlight to the government the need for an extension to the RMGC and informed the authorities that with its membership now closed, it was struggling to accommodate local golfers, let alone large groups from abroad.
In an attempt to assist the RMGC, the Malta Tourism Authority agreed to subsidise the Swedish contract to the tune of Lm25,000 - but only on condition that the RMGC accepted the original terms and conditions of the trial contract.
At the club's annual general meeting, the club's management board recommended to its members that the Golf Plaisir contract should not be renewed, as it was neither financially nor practically workable.
The members unanimously endorsed the board's recommendation.
Club chairman Paul Stoner was very disappointed that such contracts, due to the lack of golfing facilities, could not be supported and stated in an e-mail to the various stakeholders: "It is with deep regret that we are unable, for the foreseeable future, to accommodate your business. It is a shame for the RMGC business-wise, and a travesty for Malta, in that no one has heard our constant pleases for more land and facilities for golf."
The loss of the contract has highlighted two aspects: That golf tourism is a reality and not a hypothetical myth - and a lucrative one at that, each player spending over €1,000 for the week; and that the existing course is already struggling to meet demand from the club's members, let alone from incoming tourists, the sources said.
The government has contemplated several sites over the decades but no decision has ever been taken. In the meantime, rival destination Cyprus has three courses, which will attract 200,000 bed nights, with 11 more courses planned.
Another source said that having another golf course could translate into 50,000 bed nights a year (the annual total for the islands is 11 million).
Three other companies have already approached the Radisson about potential contracts. Golf Plaisir handles around 100,000 golfers a year.
Sources said the contract would have meant over Lm350,000 being chipped into the economy (excluding flights), of which Lm75,500 would have gone to the golf club.
The company Golf Plaisir organised trial packages to Malta in March, which involved a one-week stay at the Radisson St Julians with seven days of unlimited golf. They were an instant success and the company filled 40 double rooms, even turning people away. The RMGC facilitated the trial by agreeing rates per round that were only 40 per cent of those charged to a normal visitor, making the package highly sought after. However, the golf course in Marsa - which is 60 per cent the size of normal golf courses - can only offer 5,200 slots a year to visitors and the influx of these Swedish golfers requiring over 5,000 slots just for themselves made it almost impossible for the RMGC's 750 members to find slots to play themselves, particularly on busy weekends, and effectively barred any other visitor to Malta from playing golf.
In an effort to try and ease the problem, Golf Plaisir proposed to halve the number of people it would handle each week and to launch the programme this month, running through the lean winter months until the end of May next year.
In the meantime, the club also took the opportunity to once again highlight to the government the need for an extension to the RMGC and informed the authorities that with its membership now closed, it was struggling to accommodate local golfers, let alone large groups from abroad.
In an attempt to assist the RMGC, the Malta Tourism Authority agreed to subsidise the Swedish contract to the tune of Lm25,000 - but only on condition that the RMGC accepted the original terms and conditions of the trial contract.
At the club's annual general meeting, the club's management board recommended to its members that the Golf Plaisir contract should not be renewed, as it was neither financially nor practically workable.
The members unanimously endorsed the board's recommendation.
Club chairman Paul Stoner was very disappointed that such contracts, due to the lack of golfing facilities, could not be supported and stated in an e-mail to the various stakeholders: "It is with deep regret that we are unable, for the foreseeable future, to accommodate your business. It is a shame for the RMGC business-wise, and a travesty for Malta, in that no one has heard our constant pleases for more land and facilities for golf."
The loss of the contract has highlighted two aspects: That golf tourism is a reality and not a hypothetical myth - and a lucrative one at that, each player spending over €1,000 for the week; and that the existing course is already struggling to meet demand from the club's members, let alone from incoming tourists, the sources said.
The government has contemplated several sites over the decades but no decision has ever been taken. In the meantime, rival destination Cyprus has three courses, which will attract 200,000 bed nights, with 11 more courses planned.
Another source said that having another golf course could translate into 50,000 bed nights a year (the annual total for the islands is 11 million).
Three other companies have already approached the Radisson about potential contracts. Golf Plaisir handles around 100,000 golfers a year.