California’s desert golf destination, Greater Palm Springs, is set to take the annual North America Golf Tourism Convention (NAC) “to another level” when it hosts the seventh annual event in 2015.
Organised by global golf tourism industry organisation IAGTO (International Association of Golf Tour Operators), NAC chalked up its best-ever attendance when South Carolina’s Charleston hosted the sixth annual edition earlier this month and drew a record 360 delegates, including more than 120 golf tour operators from 24 countries around the world.
But next year’s convention is set to be even bigger. “We are going to take the event on to another level after the great success of the North America Convention in Charleston, with the objective of attracting buyers and media from Asia to augment the already record levels of buyers attending from all over the world,” said IAGTO Chief Executive Peter Walton.
“We will shortly be inviting CVBs and golf resorts from all over the US to attend and we will be expecting 150 buyers including those from Asia.”
Walton added that it would be the first IAGTO event staged in Palm Springs. “I am very excited about taking our members to Palm Springs to experience one of North America’s foremost desert golf destinations,” he continued.
“It will be taking place in a period of the highest growth the golf tourism industry has experienced in the last decade. Golf tour operators will be looking for more and more new destinations because of the upsurge in golf holiday requests, and I expect that level to be even higher this time next year.”
Rick Blackburn, Vice President, Convention Sales & Services, Greater Palm Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau, said he was looking forward to welcoming delegates to the area and to experience its 100 golf courses, and he hoped it would attract 25% more delegates than this year’s NAC.
“Greater Palm Springs has been a huge supporter of IAGTO for many years and we are honoured and very excited to be hosting the North America Convention in 2015,” he commented.
“We are ecstatic about having NAC in Palm Springs. This is a fantastic opportunity for our hotels, golf courses and resorts to showcase the destination. The whole thing about this is to have all these people on your home turf and to get them to see the Greater Palm Springs area. Once they see the beautiful golf courses we have, it will be very easy for them to sell to their clients.”
Blackburn added that Greater Palm Springs had changed over the years, so that even if people attending the convention had been before there would be a lot of new things to see and experience.
“It used to be known for a lot of retirees and Hollywood celebrities – and it is so much more than that now,” he said. “It really attracts the young crowd now as well, so there is a lot for everyone. The cultural scene is pretty vibrant and the nightlife is amazing as well. I think it is going to open a lot of people’s eyes when they see it.
“It is an outdoor playground; there is so much to do outside. We want to highlight the Palm Springs area. We have nine cities in the Greater Palm Springs area and we want to showcase all of them because they are all very different.
“We have big branded golf resorts, lots of boutique properties and everything in between. It is very important for tour operators to see the vast difference in hotels and resorts so that they can build the right trip for clients. We know that after bringing all these tour operators next year a lot of business will be coming to Palm Springs.”
Gary Orfield, Leisure Sales Account Director, the Westin Mission Hills Golf Resort & Spa, said: “I am so excited about NAC coming to Palm Springs next year. There is no way I can sell the destination any better than when people visit. No amount of photographs will justify the beauty of the destination and what it offers.
“It is just a question of getting people to go and then they realise what an exciting place it is.”
NAC 2015 will take place next June. More details of the event will be announced shortly.
INFORMATION FOR THE EDITOR
Established in 1997, IAGTO is the global trade organisation of the golf tourism industry, and has over 2250 members in 99 countries including more than 550 golf tour operator members in 62 countries, which control more than 85% of golf holiday packages sold worldwide and which collectively have annual sales of over US$2 billion. IAGTO runs a successful North America Convention, now in its 6th year, along with annual Asia and Mid Year Conventions and regular Destination Conventions. IAGTO established the International Golf Travel Market, now owned and operated by Reed Travel Exhibitions, in 1997 and the International Golf Travel Writers Association in 2000. IAGTO also runs the prestigious annual IAGTO Awards and the IAGTO Excellence Awards.
