"Have you gone golfing in Japan?" Since spring 2024, the topic of Japanese golf tourism has been circulating within the golf community. Golfing in Japan is relatively inexpensive, and with the significant depreciation of the yen, traveling to Japan can even be cheaper than going to Southeast Asia.


The cost of playing three rounds of golf in Japan is equivalent to the price of one round domestically, and that's without tips. In the 2024 Asian Top 100 Golf Courses list, Japan boasts 23 entries, enticing many golf enthusiasts to contemplate checking off these top-ranked courses.


As they say, different strokes for different folks; in Japan, you can play at various levels of courses. To borrow the popular phrase of today, "It's not that golfing domestically is unaffordable, it's just that Japan offers better value for money."


Golf tourism is generally defined as "traveling with the primary purpose of playing golf." Currently, golf tourism is thriving worldwide, with intense competition for target demographics, ranging from the myriad activities and packages offered by golf courses to the promotion of golf tourism in various international regions.


Is golf becoming more accessible to the masses? Golf regained its status as an official Olympic event at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016, and golf competitions were also held at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 and the Paris Olympics in 2024. Golf in China is gradually moving beyond its aristocratic associations and entering the mainstream consciousness.


Have you noticed more or fewer people playing golf around you? With the continuous improvement of economic standards, the golfing population in China is growing steadily. According to the Asian Professional Golf Association, the annual growth rate of golfers in China is about 20-30%. The Caribbean Tourism Organization has identified China as an "emerging market" for future world golf tourism.


Where do you usually play golf? Do you stick to a few courses due to work, continuously improve your skills at courses near your home, or travel around whenever you have time to swing? Let's take a look at the travel data of golfers on the BaiGolf platform:




I. General Trends in Golf Tourism


From the data perspective, 16% of golfers chose to play abroad during the May Day holiday period, indicating that flying to play golf has become quite commonplace.



II. Proportion of Overseas Travel Destinations








Japan tops the list of overseas golf tourism destinations; Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand remain hot; the UAE emerges as a rising star.

❖ The total proportion of players heading to Japan reached 38%, with the opening of visas coupled with the depreciation of the yen, resulting in an explosive growth in the number of people going to Japan to play golf this year. According to statistics, 50% of golfers went to the Kanto region to swing, 20% chose the Kansai region, and another 10% went to Okinawa, Japan, to enjoy the May Day holiday.

The most popular courses include Kawana Hotel Golf Course (ranked second in Japan, third in the 2024 Asian Top 100), Naruo Golf Club (a Top 100 course in Japan), and Fuji Golf Course (voted the best course for admiring Mount Fuji).

Japan itself has numerous golf courses, but due to the declining number of domestic golfers influenced by the declining birthrate, Japan is constantly considering ways to attract overseas golfers. They have done quite well in various aspects, such as most courses providing staff fluent in foreign languages, providing rulebooks in foreign languages, and making it convenient to send golf bags for check-in at airports/convenience stores, as well as renting clubs and shoes.

❖ Although summer has arrived, Thailand remains popular. Bangkok has the most golf courses, with Royal Golf and Country Club and Thai Country Club being almost a must-play. Phuket's representative courses include Red Mountain, Laguna, Blue Canyon, and Loch Palm. Pattaya's several courses under the SIAM brand are also very interesting.

Focusing on Pattaya, it was once awarded "Best Golf Tourism Destination of the Year" due to its pleasant climate throughout the year, excellent reception capabilities, well-maintained golf courses with caddies, beautiful beaches, first-class restaurants, spas, water parks, five-star hotels, a variety of shopping facilities, cultural attractions, and only a 2-hour drive from Bangkok to Pattaya.

❖ Although not visa-free, Vietnam's golf courses in Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, and Hanoi are consistently praised. It's worth mentioning that the International Golf Travel Organization once selected Vietnam as the "Best Golf Tourism Destination of the Year," not for a specific city but for the entire country. In 2007, Vietnam was awarded the title of "Undiscovered Golf Destination" by the International Golf Travel Association. Since then, golf tourism in Vietnam has developed rapidly, with new top-notch courses popping up like mushrooms, offering extremely high value for money.

❖ Other destinations:

Singapore's Sentosa and Laguna courses remain highly popular and worth a visit. Kuala Lumpur's golf courses are suitable for challengers seeking difficulty, while the Green Valley is popular for its ease of play. Indonesia's Bali and Bintan islands attract golf enthusiasts worldwide with their unique tropical island charm. In the UAE, the two 18-hole courses, the Emirates Golf Club and Faldo Course, have the highest number of visitors, and the Emirates Golf Club is also one of the Top 100 courses in Asia.

* The above analysis is based on the travel orders of 7,095 golfers sampled from the BaiGolf platform from April 27, 2024, to May 5, 2024.


III. Future Trends Prediction



Golf tourism can be divided into two major types: golf-centric and sightseeing-centric. The former focuses primarily on golf, with little sightseeing arranged, while the latter prioritizes sightseeing, with golf as a secondary objective.


Currently, pure golf tourism accounts for a large proportion, and it is expected that with the economic recovery, the golf tourism market will continue to grow. Personalized and customized golf tourism services will become the main demand of golfers.



About BaiGolf


BaiGolf (www.baigolf.com) is one of the most widely used online golf course booking and golf travel service platforms in the Asia-Pacific region, offering a choice of 14 languages including Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, English, and Korean, among others, and providing booking options for over 3000 golf courses worldwide and over 1000 golf travel packages.


www.baigolf.com offers you a fast and convenient online booking experience, making it the preferred platform for booking golf. 

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