When the world began to lock down during the onset on the pandemic, disposable income—among the higher income brackets anyway—piled up. So when the door finally opened back up to world travel, the hinges almost came off. Those who could afford flights and stays in tropical destinations tripped over each other to book vacations. International resorts that had been ghost towns for months on end were suddenly packed solid.

And the momentum might even be increasing.

That was the consistent story yesterday at the 2023 Toronto Golf & Travel Show at The International Centre, as representatives from one destination after another spoke of eye-popping numbers.

The five-star Jamaican trio of Rosehall’s White Witch and Cinnamon Hill in Montego Bay and The Tryall Club, a 50-minute drive due west, are all “demolishing records,” notes Keith Stein, the director of operations for Rose Hall Golf. “It was the best December and January on record.”

Karel Gomez of Iberostar Resorts echoes the enthusiasm. “In Mexico, we never really closed down—it was basically just a month. But in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, it was much longer. But then after 2021, business started to pick up again. And once Canada opened up, it became super busy—much better than 2019,” Gomez smiles. “In January, our golf course at Bávaro in Punta Cana had our best month ever—roughly 4,500 rounds—1,000 rounds more than the previous record—which is amazing for the Caribbean. Everyone wants to play in the morning to avoid the heat, but the course was busy all day. Same with the hotels—they are booked solid. Normally things quiet down in May/June and September/October, but there has been no low season since things opened up.”

Iberostar is also spreading its wings 700 kms to the south on Aruba, where it plans to open three hotels in early 2024. They’re also taking over management of that island’s premier golf course, Tierra del Sol, pouring money into an irrigation system and course conditioning, with the possible addition of seawater-resistant paspalum grass.

EUROPEAN VACATION

But it’s not just beach destinations that are red hot, assures Golf Away Tours owner T.J. Rule. “2019 was our best year, and 2020 was trending to be better still, before the pandemic. Then we went to zero business for 18 months, because people couldn’t get out of the country,” Rule says. “But nobody cancelled their trips; they just kept pushing them forward. And luckily our suppliers were great about it, and pushed the credit forward so that our clients didn’t lose any money.”

Being more of a boutique custom travel operator catering to a bevy of high-end destinations has certainly been an advantage for Rule. “We knew golfers would be some of the first people to come back. We were at a Tourism Ireland function recently, and they said that last year they got back to about 70% of 2019. But for us, it was 150%! Ireland gets lots of bus tours, so maybe 48 people on a bus. People weren’t comfortable enough for that to come back right away. But when you get eight guys who all know each other in their own bus, as with many of our tours, they were ready to come back.

“There are people who are desperate to travel and have the money to do it. And those are our clients, which is great for us,” Rule continues. “And our partnership with the PGA of Canada has been great. There are a lot more pros who want to bring their members on trips.”

Business began to return with a trickle in the fall of 2021. And then the floodgates opened. “Last year was insane,” Rule says. “It was the best year for everyone in our business. But the thing that surprised all of us is that 2023 has been even busier.”

So now the problem is availability—finding places for people to play when the most famous stops are booked solid. “There are already months in 2024 that are sold out!” Rule says.

“People obviously want to check off the big ones—Royal County Down, which is No. 1 in the world, and Royal Portrush, which is hosting the Open in 2025,” Rule accepts. But there’s an array of epic golf experiences that are still gettable, he notes. “If we can’t book Portrush and County Down, we can book Ballyliffin and Rosapenna and Carne and Enniscrone, which many people don’t know as well, but which are all awesome. And those ones often provide more authentic experiences—less touristy, small towns, not as busy, where you can often go out and play again after your round. I’ve been trying to push people to the northwest of Ireland in particular in recent years.”

But can there be too much of a good thing for the golf business? Yes, suggests Seguin Valley GC General Manager Gail Burrows, who is not lamenting the national forecast of slightly lower rounds for the year ahead. “It was too busy,” she smiles.