Popularity of destinations like Bodrum and Antalya has already led to massive success in the Turkish tourism industry, but the market is set to grow further as a result of golf tourism, according to a new report.
KPMG Golf Advisory Services (KMPG is one of the largest professional services firms in the world) surveyed more than 70 tour operators and 50 golf course architects and found that Turkey is one of the countries that is expected to see a thriving golf tourism market in the future, reported Airflights.co.uk.
Hotspots like Malaga and Faro have made Spain and Portugal Europe’s top destinations for golfers, but the KPMG research suggested that this could be set to change.
Andrea Sartori of KPMG Golf Advisory Services said: “The golf industry as a whole is likely to benefit from the continued growth of the broader travel and tourism industry.“
“However, the traditional golf markets of Europe and North America can expect increasing competition from the emerging golf destinations that offer high quality golfing experiences at affordable prices.“
Sartori went on to explain that the “changing face“ of the tourism industry is a result of lower air fares, greater accessibility to worldwide destinations and more frequent travel.

Some two million Muslims make the mandatory pilgrimage to the Islamic holy city of Mecca every year during Hajj.

According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), tourism could serve as a “common social denominator“ to connect people and help them better understand other religions and cultures in an ever-shrinking world fraught with political and social tensions.
The UNWTO hosts a conference in Cordoba, Spain which started on Oct. 19 and lasts for 10 days and has brought together leaders from all faiths, academics and policymakers to discuss the relationship between tourism and religion and how it can be used to promote social growth as well as economic growth, said Dominicantoday.com.
“Tourism is a mechanism that makes person-to-person encounters possible. These in turn foster understanding of the differences among societies. Tourism makes it possible to establish bonds among persons who would otherwise continue to view each other with wariness and mistrust,“ UNWTO Secretary-General Francesco Frangialli said in a statement.
The organization says the conference is relevant now because the tourism industry is one of the fastest-growing in the world. Between 2000 and 2006, international tourism grew from 684 million to 846 million arrivals annually, and that’s expected to grow to nearly 1.6 billion by 2020, the UNWTO said. Countries recognize the potential economic benefits of developing tourism infrastructure, and more affordable transportation has made personal travel an option for more people.
Religion is a major motivation for tourists--they may want to make pilgrimages, fulfill pledges, take part in religious celebrations, visit notable buildings or monuments or make offerings to divinities.
World Youth Day, a Vatican initiative to strengthen the faith of young Catholics in an international context, is the largest youth event in the world. The 2005 event held in Cologne, Germany, drew 435,000 pilgrims from 197 countries, and 1.2 million people attended the final mass.
Some two million Muslims make the mandatory pilgrimage to the Islamic holy city of Mecca every year during Hajj, according to sacredsites.com, an online guide to holy sites around the world.
The UNWTO conference will aim to figure out how meaningful tourism experiences, whether undertaken in groups or individually, can “close the gaps that separate people and their points of view“ once the tourist returns to their home country, the UNWTO said.

In response to the news that the Chinese government plans to cut the current 7-day-long May Day and National Day “Golden Week“ public holidays to 3-4 days while increasing the length of the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, experts said that changing the Golden Week System will pose no hindrance to the long-term development of tourism in China, despite uneven influences on different sub-sectors and companies in a short period of time, said Au.biz.yahoo.com.
Everbright Securities Analyst Zhu Yi says that to use several small golden weeks to replace the existing long holiday tallies with national conditions.
Meanwhile, increasing traditional holidays may help boost short-distance and city suburb tourism.
What may be affected in a short period of time are major long-distance scenic spots, say Yulong Snowy Mountain in Yunnan, Sanyan in Hainan, Shahu (Salt Lake) in Ningxia, Emei Mountain in Sichuan, Guilin in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and Tibet.
For travel agencies, as outbound sightseeing tour requires longer time, they may be affected heavily. But for traditional domestic tourism, short-distance tourism in particular, it is beneficial, while inbound tourism may not be affected greatly.

Tibet Record
On the other hand more than 3.2 million people have visited Tibet so far this year, breaking all records and doubling tourist spending in the Himalayan region, thanks to a new railway and airport.
The tourists spent 3.89 billion yuan (253 million pounds), an increase of 90.1 percent from the same period last year.
“Since the opening of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway and promotion efforts, the tourism industry has boomed,“ Xinhua news agency said. The railway opened in July 2006.
Most tourists were domestic but 325,870 came from overseas--a rise of 155.4 percent.
Tibet, which now has three airports, noted a one-fifth rise in flights over the summer.
China, which expects the number of tourists visiting Tibet to reach 6 million in 2010, is building a fourth airport in Ngari in the west, which will be the world’s highest.

ÒEagle StoneÓ in IranÕs Sabalan Mountain, Ardebil province

Hector dolphin

New Zealand’s dolphins earned more than $24 million for the country last year, and their true economic value could be much higher, Ministry of Tourism figures showed.
Dolphin swimming and watching tours directly brought in an estimated $24.6m to the New Zealand economy in the year ended December 2006 said Nz.news.yahoo.com
About 103,000 people reported taking part in dolphin watching or swimming in 2006.
WWF-NZ (a site that is part of a global network and also works at an international level to aid sustainable development about conservation) executive director Chris Howe said the figures showed dolphins were important to the nation’s economy and added a whole new dimension for implementing really effective protection measures for Hector dolphins, the species the South Island dolphin tour industry centered on.
“This can be done now under the government’s draft Hector and Maui dolphin threat management plan, which is currently open to public consultation, provided it includes a national ban on set nets which are the biggest threat to the animal’s survival and adequately restricts trawling throughout the dolphins’ range.“
The findings also highlighted how carefully managed wildlife tourism activities could be an economic and conservation asset.
Howe said two dolphin tour operators have pledged their support to WWF’s 24,500 signature e-petition calling for the tightest controls within the plan.
“Obviously, Hector dolphins are in fact priceless. They are amazing creatures, and live only in New Zealand. But their economic value is another reason to protect them.“
“The figures from the ministry are clearly for all dolphins, not just Hector dolphins, and underline the fact that one of the reasons people visit New Zealand is to experience our globally significant marine wildlife--approximately half of which, like Hector’s and Maui dolphins, is unique to our oceans.“
The number of international visitors buying a dolphin watching or swimming trip had doubled in the past ten years and the latest ad from Tourism New Zealand featured dolphin swimming as an important part of the 100 percent Pure New Zealand brand, Howe said.
“This means that their true value is likely to be much higher.“
Managing director of Black Cat Cruises Paul Bingham said the future of these dolphins is in the hands of today’s decision makers.

Visitors to Sukur are warned not to approach a certain ancient baobab tree because, villagers say, it turns people into hermaphrodites.
It is an atmospheric introduction to this Nigerian World Heritage Site for the trickle of outsiders who come, but villagers who trek up and down from the remote hillside community are ready for an injection of modernity, reported Reuters.
As the outside world starts to take a greater interest in the hilltop outpost, which earned its World Heritage label from UNESCO in 1999, the people there would also like to see more of the outside world.
“Can you take me to your place?“ asked Hadanina Ajesko, 29, joking with a foreign visitor as she bent over to harvest groundnuts from a terraced field, her baby strapped to her back.
A wide gash in the hillside is still visible from where the village men started digging a road before the government of Adamawa state, where Sukur is located, told them to stop.
So the farms and stone dwellings perched in lush mountains near the northeastern border with Cameroon are accessible only by a steep footpath, paved centuries ago with slabs of local granite.
“I have never been further than Madagali,“ said Ajesko through a translator, referring to a tiny market town about 15 km (9 miles) away where the women of Sukur sell their produce.
What makes Sukur special is that its tradition of terracing is for ritual as well as farming purposes, experts say.
The guest book contains about 30 signatures so far this year. Hardly any foreign tourists make it to Nigeria because of its reputation for crime, few Nigerians have heard of Sukur and little practical information is available for those who have.
For Sukur, even that small number of visitors is a break with a past of near-total isolation.

The German government has announced it would put 1.8-million euro (US$2.6 million) towards building an environment-friendly tourism site at Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park.
The German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) will support the Quang Binh Province project with the non-refundable aid through 2010, according to the plan signed by GTZ and provincial authorities in Hanoi, said Thanhniennews.com
GTZ has provided technical assistance to Vietnam since 1993.

Thailand’s thriving tourism industry and its healthy buy-to-let market means it is still a viable location for property market investment.
Bank of Thailand statistics show that the tourism industry accounted for nine percent of Thailand’s gross domestic product in 2005, while the number of international tourist arrivals reached 13.4 million in 2006, said Holidaylettings.co.uk.
As a result, Paul Collins, overseas property editor for BuyAssociation, believes that Thailand is a country with a great deal of “interest“ for investors.
Particularly appealing, he says, is that Thailand is a destination favored by people from all over the world--ensuring demand for rented accommodation is high.
“Thailand’s very popular--not just with tourists from Australasia and from southeast Asia as well; it’s popular with tourists from around the world,“ Collins confirmed.
“So there are plenty of opportunities to invest and then to rent it out to tourists--particularly if you’re buying good properties on the beach resorts then there are really good opportunities to rent out.“

Caribbean islands, separated by diverse languages and cultures, are developing a single regional brand to promote the tourism industry that drives most of their economies.
The new campaign, whose logo presents the word “Caribbean“ in a rainbow of colors, aims to reverse a decade-long decline in the region’s share of international tourism, said Allen Chastanet, chairman of the Caribbean Trade Organization, wrote AP.
“Whether we like it or not, we’re all intrinsically tied,“ Chastanet said in an interview at the trade organization’s 30th annual conference in San Juan. “If you can create more awareness of the Caribbean, then all the destinations in the region will benefit.“
Caribbean tourism, which drives most of the region’s economies, grew at an average annual rate of less than 3.5 percent over the past 10 years, compared with 4.5 percent around the world, the trade group’s statistics show.