The Week That Was, october 9, 2011

hungary Everybody's Got a Hungary Heart

The world-wide economic collapse has claimed another victim, and this time it's an entire nation's golf development industry.

I'm talking about golf development in Hungary, which is, according to a Hungarian business newspaper, currently showing no signs of life. “The economic crisis,” Napi Gazdasag reports, “has brought Hungary's developing golf industry to a halt.”

The newspaper drew its conclusion on this evidence: Construction on golf courses in Csákberény (26 holes) and Bicske (12 holes) has been stopped in midstream, and a planned third course near Lake Balaton hasn't gotten off the drawing boards.

The course in Csákberény, at Csákberény Golf Resort, was designed by a Swedish architect, Magnus Syrén of Syrén–Blomgren Golf Design. I believe the course in Bicske was to be the centerpiece of Budapest Gate Country Club, which is supposedly being developed by an Irish group collaborating with Hungarian partners. The course had been designed by Christy O'Connor, Jr.

The course near Lake Balaton, in Sávoly, was to be an amenity at Balatonring, which was being developed by a Spanish developer, Sedesa. Balatonring has been master-planned to include a Grand Prix race track, a hotel with a wellness center, and a motorcycle school.

To be sure, golf development in Hungary isn't a major economic indicator, and it's dangerous to make grand conclusions off limited evidence. Still, Napi Gazdasag's report is another unwanted piece of bad news for golf and a reflection of the tough times also being endured by other European nations.

While I'm at it, I should note a couple other bits of Hungarian golf news.

First, the Budapest Business Journal reports that the nation currently has seven 18-hole courses, three nine-hole courses, and three six-hole golf courses. Another source says the tally is nine 18-hole courses, one nine-hole course, and three six-hole courses.

Second, one of those courses -- the 18-hole track at Polus Palace Golf Club in Göd -- is for sale. The course is affiliated with a high-end luxury hotel (called Polus Palace) that couldn't attract overnight guests and has consequently gone belly up.

A Hungarian website, CPP-Luxury.com, says that occupancy rates at most of Hungary's luxury hotels fell by 30 percent during the first six months of this year. This is especially discouraging news for the nation's hoteliers, as it comes on top of a dismal 2010, when their business was down by 20 percent from 2009.

thailand Have Clubs, Will Travel

Better news has arrived from Thailand, which is experiencing a surge in golf tourism that could generate as much as $2 billion in revenues next year.

Golfers make up just a small fraction of Thailand's tourist traffic -- just 3 percent of the overall number -- but they spend freely and their numbers are clearly on the rise. More than 500,000 golf travelers were expected to visit Thailand this year, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand, and the nation could attract as many as 600,000 foreign golf vacationers in 2012.

The golf traffic is significant, because each of those golf-focused vacationers is believed to spend about $3,300 during his or her time in Thailand -- three times the amount that other vacationers spend.

“It could be our best season ever,” a tour operator told Global Travel Industry News. “The political situation is calm, there have been no natural disasters to deter tourism, and Thailand's cultural capability to attract tourists remains streets ahead of other markets.”

What's more, Thailand's golf tourism business is expected to keep growing. If Thailand attracts 30 million foreign inbound tourists by 2015, as the nation's government believes it will, and if the percentage of golfers holds at 3 percent, then the nation will attract 900,000 golfers and ring up $4.5 billion in revenues from them.

A final note: Thailand, which reportedly has 260 golf courses, is said to be Asia's most popular destination for foreign golfers. The world leader is Spain, which attracts nearly 1 million golf tourists annually.

india Player Starts Small

Gary Player's first golf course in India may be shrinking.

A little more than a year ago, the South Carolina-based architect was hired to design an 18-hole course for DLF City, a big planned community in suburban New Delhi. Player's course was to be the second 18-hole track at the city, which is already home to an Arnold Palmer-designed track (at DLF Golf & Country Club) that's hosted the Johnnie Walker Classic and other professional events.

Now the Indian Express is reporting that New Delhi-based DLF, Ltd. has downsized its ambitions and is only planning to build a nine-hole course. The course is expected to open in 2013.

All is not completely lost, however, because the newspaper notes that “there is scope for expanding the course to 18 holes,” although DLF isn't saying when.

Along with Player's course, DLF had originally planned to build some houses, a hotel, a sports complex, and a golf practice center.

Some information in this post originally appeared in the June 2010 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.