As Golf Tourism Grows, Unexpected Regions are Teeing Off for Tourists

It takes three and half hours to drive from Athens to Costa Navarino, a 2,471-acre development on the southwestern tip of Greece’s mainland. Once a sea of endless olive groves along the the Aegean, today it’s a golfer’s oasis with four, soon-to-be five, world-class courses. 

“The Costa Navarino resort is one of the finest new golf destinations in the world,” says Mike Eaton, marketing manager at Premier Golf, a luxury operator that designs experience golf vacation packages. “Quality golf, accommodations, climate, a cultural draw are all factors that add to the desire.”

The Bay Course—a Robert Trent Jones II–designed 18-hole, par 71—was unveiled in Navarino back in 2011. It was Greece’s second signature-designed golf course at the time. But even today, it continues to draw heavy-weight hospitality players to the site. This summer, the Mandarin Oriental Costa Navarino, a 99-room resort carved into the hillside, with garden-topped lairs disguised into the replanted olive groves, joined the existing Westin and W Hotels for its first full season. It was the brand’s debut in Greece and it was built directly on the course.

“Greece’s golf tourism boom signifies a strategic opportunity to diversify the country’s tourism offerings beyond traditional sun and beach holidays,” says Luis Lizarazo, director of business development at Costa Navarino Golf. 

Golf tourism is poised to grow by over $1 billion by 2026, and both nations and hospitality giants are taking notice. Now, a growing number of destinations, from South Africa’s Kruger National Park to Bulgaria’s Black Sea Coast, that didn’t know their mashie from their niblick are actively investing in golf infrastructure.

That’s because “golfers usually stay longer at their destination of choice and have a higher average daily spend than the general tourist,” says Daniel J. Jones, marketing and member engagement manager for Haversham & Baker Expeditions. Better still a golfers’ ancillary spend can impact the broader tourism economy.

“Our clients want to use golf as a way of seeing the world,” says Gordon Dalgleish, president at PerryGolf, which offers emerging destination golf packages in Portugal and Asia. Still, he cautions that not all of these new golf hubs are up to snuff. For instance, Europeans have been golfing Portugal since the 1970s, where “the courses are decent but not at a level that affluent American golfers would want to play,” he says.

But even that is changing. In recent years, a slew of new development geared toward the affluent American audience have opened, including the David McLay Kidd–designed Terras da Comporta (a 2023 addition to the existing Jack Nicklaus–designed course at Monte Rei Golf & Country Club) and the Tom Fazio–designed course at CostaTerra Golf and Ocean Club.

Sicily is another popular newcomer, having won the 2023 World’s Best Emerging Golf Destination for its notable Verdura East and West courses that are now ranked as some of the best in the world. Mallorca was also acknowledged by the awards, touting a total of 23 courses (20 of which visitors can play) across the archipelago’s 1,405 square-miles. Alcanada, Golf Son Gual, and the renovated T Golf Calvia are among the top-rated.

“Both islands are built for golf,” says Eaton, noting the spectacular scenery, “perfect climate,” and variety of activities off the course. Though he added that it’s “long been established as a golf destination in the European market,” the U.S. is starting to catch on, contributing to its wave of popularity.

Originally built in 1972, Skukuza Golf Course in Kruger National Park was revamped and opened to the public in 2023. In Central Vietnam, ​​Hoiana Shores and the second course at BRG Danang Golf Resort (designed by Nicklaus) are new additions to the existing five courses that were built in the mid 2000s. And there are 16 courses in the Antalya province of Turkey that cumulatively contributed over $150 million to the economy as of 2019. Carya Golf Club, designed by Thomson Perrett & Lobb, is the top internationally rated course, but there’s also Montgomerie Maxx Royal, Lykia Links, and Cornelia Faldo Golf Course—all opened between 2008 and 2014. 

Since 2017, Denmark has shown potential after Nicklaus Design opened Great Northern in Kerteminde. The golf resort flaunts seven artificial lakes and a view of the Storebælt Bridge. Prior to that, Trent Jones II had crafted some foundations after rebranding the Scandinavian Golf Club in 2010.

Nevertheless, to really capture the affluent golf market, countries, and resort operators around the world will have to do even more, says Dalgleish. “I’m not saying that there aren’t U.S. golfers who want to go to Navarino or Mallorca, but numbers are relatively small in comparison to the British Isles where it’s perceived as the home of golf; it’s got this allure that other places are fighting against,” he explains. 

Jones agrees, noting that in order for emerging destinations to be successful, they need to recognize where they fit into the golf tourism industry. “Few golfers are going to play the courses of Scandinavia before they do so in Great Britain and Ireland,” he says. “Yet, the former is one of many destinations that’s appealing to golfers who have played the marquee courses on their list and are now asking, ‘Where to next?’”

On the flip side, adventurous putters are also being pleasantly surprised, he added: “The satisfaction level from clients is higher because the experience offers a surprising and unique element that surpasses expectations.”