Golf Business News – Golf in St Andrews is worth over £300 million a year in Scottish economy
Visitors taking the seven courses in St Andrews and their families have a total economic impact on Scotland of £317 million each year. This supports 4,300 full-time jobs in the country, highlighting that St Andrews Link is one of Scotland’s major tourism assets.
A detailed study by the Center for Sports Industry Research at Sheffield Hallam University calculates the amount visitors spend directly on St Andrews golf, as well as hotels, restaurants, bars, shops and local travel providers.
The report found that the St Andrews link that manages seven courses includes Old, New, Jubilee and Castle courses, welcomes an average of 2,000 visitors a week. About 72% of these tourists come from overseas, the United States (40%) and Canada (6%) are the main markets. Another 28% of visits came from the UK and the remaining 26% came from elsewhere.
The report also highlights how visitors perceive their spending. About 84% said they would return “may or likely” in the future, highlighting the unique nature of the St Andrews Tour and world-class service delivery levels. It was recently announced that the old course will hold another Open Championship in 2027.
Neil Coulson, CEO of St Andrews Links Trust (pictured) said: “This is the first such study, focusing only on the impact of golf in St Andrews on towns and on the broader Scottish economy.
“This clearly demonstrates the huge impact on the towns and our visitors provide the promotional impact to communities across Scotland every year. In the past, this impact may have been underestimated.
“St Andrews’ unique place as the lifeblood and source of the sport means both golfers and non-golfers want to come here and experience the place in person. However, this only works if we continue to invest in our facilities and ensure we strive for an excellent customer experience. The combination is what makes St Andrews link stand out.”
St Andrews Links Trust is a charity that reinvests all its revenues into sports, facilities and community programs in the area.
In St Andrews itself, every £1 pound of farming through the visitor’s St Andrews links generated £3.43 for other businesses in the town.
Richard Lochhead, the Scottish government’s business minister, said: “Scotland is known for its pride reputation as the birthplace of the game, and St Andrews is home to many linked courses, especially the old ones, which is the jealousy of the world.
“This report brings the scale of the benefits we all get from trust fund courses to the scope, as well as the widespread impact of golf tourism, which adds the economy to £300 million a year and supports about 5,000 jobs.
“I commend all the trust it has done to maintain and grow the game and I look forward to returning to St Andrews in the 2027 Open, which will further enhance our position as a first-class, large-scale event, with funding from the Scottish Government.”
Of the 283,000 rounds of the 2023 Seven St Andrews Link Courses, 152,000 (54%) of the visitors are St Andrews visitors.
More than half of visitors combine their St Andrews link trip with another iconic layout to visit Scotland. The most popular were Kingsbarns (29%), followed by Carnoustie (25%), Dumbarnie (15%) and Crail (14%). This finding shows that visiting the St Andrews link course is a catalyst for further tourism activities in Scotland.
Vistcotland CEO Vicki Miller added: “This comprehensive study demonstrates the important role of golf in the Scottish visitor economy, where St Andrews is at the heart of a globally recognized asset.
“Scotland remains the golf destination for golfers around the world, and our renowned hotels, culture and heritage, besides the courses, provide a truly unique and rich experience for all visitors. We welcome this study, which strengthens Scotland’s reputation as the world’s leading destination for tourism and activities.”
Professor Simon Shibli of Sheffield Hallam University said: “Economic impact research tends to focus on the impact of one-time major sports events. For St Andrews Contact Trust, we have the opportunity to investigate the economic impact of permanent full-year golf business for a permanent full-year golf business. Using the gold standard method to interview more than 2,400 golfers, our study reveals a significant asset to the Scottish economy, which is not sufficient for the attitude toward the Scottish economy, and that’s not only the basis. The tourism and employment benefits, that the annual economic impact of the St Andrews Contact Trust is equivalent to the three Opens held in Scotland each year, which is a very remarkable discovery.
