As a result of the partnership with GAO, St. Kitts will be hosting the St. Kitts 2-ball Shootout in conjunction with the Golf Association of Canada.
BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS – The St. Kitts Tourism Authority has partnered with the Golf Association of Ontario (GAO) to promote St. Kitts & Nevis as a golf destination to golfers in the province. The announcement was made at a luncheon held at the Angus Glen Golf Club.
“The GAO partnership represents a dynamic opportunity for St Kitts & Nevis to showcase the beauty and challenges of our golf courses to one of Canada’s strongest consumer segments,” said the Hon. Mr. Lindsay F.P. Grant, Minister of Tourism, International Trade, Industry and Commerce. “For the GAO to select St. Kitts & Nevis as an overseas venue for a sanctioned event underscores the emergence of our islands as a premier golf destination that’s only going to get better when we welcome our new courses at Kittitian Hill and Christophe Harbour. On behalf of our stakeholders and the people of St. Kitts & Nevis, we look forward to welcoming the many GAO members and staff that will come to our shores in the years ahead.”
As a result of the partnership with GAO, St. Kitts will be hosting the St. Kitts 2-ball Shootout in conjunction with the Golf Association of Canada. Taking place from December 5-12, 2015, the event will feature 2-person teams competing in a 54-hole gross and net better ball competition at the Royal St. Kitts Golf Club. Participating golfers from the GAO will travel to St. Kitts on a 7-night package that includes accommodations at the St. Kitts Marriott Resort, meals, receptions, tournament play, awards and more.
“Our members are very well traveled and can get themselves to Myrtle Beach, Miami, Jamaica and many other well-known and popular golf destinations,” said Chris Osborne, President of the GAO. “What we want to give them is something new, something different, something special… and St. Kitts is all of that.”
Golf is one of the most lucrative niche markets that can contribute to a destination’s economy. More golfers live and play in the province of Ontario than any other region of Canada and Canada represents the second largest source market in North America for air passenger arrivals. There are 6 million golfers in Canada and those who travel overseas to play golf spend 4.5 billion, representing a significant potential market for St. Kitts & Nevis.
In addition to the Royal St. Kitts Golf Cluband, on Nevis, the Robert Trent Jones II course at Four Seasons Resort Nevis Golf Club, the twin-island federation will soon be home to the hillside Irie Fields championship course designed by Ian Woosnam at Kittitian Hill, which currently has 9 holes open with the remaining 9 holes to open by the end of this year, and a Tom Fazio championship course at Christophe Harbour on St. Kitts’ southeast peninsula scheduled to open in 2017. Together, they create a collection of championship courses unmatched in a destination of St. Kitts and Nevis’ size.
Further to the 2Ball Invitational, other signature golf events continue to be developed that showcase St. Kitts & Nevis as a golf destination. In May 2016, the island will host a second new event, the LINKS Magazine St. Kitts Couples Invitational. Entering its 6th year, the Admiral’s Cup Pro-Am is scheduled to take place February 7-11, 2016 and continues to grow in popularity among golf club teams.
In 2014, LINKS Magazine included St. Kitts & Nevis in its newly created ranking of the Top 25 Islands in the world for golf travel and it is one of just seven Caribbean islands on the list.
Photo caption (top Left left to right): Racquel Brown, CEO of the St. Kitts Tourism Authority; Hon. Lindsay F.P. Grant, Minister of Tourism, International Transport, Industry & Commerce; Chris Osborn, President of the Golf Association of Ontario; and Mike Kelly Interim Executive Director of the Golf Association of Ontario at the golf luncheon held earlier today at Angus Glen Golf Club in Markham, Ontario.
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