{"id":948,"date":"2017-12-14T11:58:25","date_gmt":"2017-12-14T11:58:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/hwbstaffnews\/?p=948"},"modified":"2017-12-14T11:58:25","modified_gmt":"2017-12-14T11:58:25","slug":"consumers-golf-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/hwbstaffnews\/2017\/12\/14\/consumers-golf-research\/","title":{"rendered":"Consumers spend \u20ac540m a year on golf in Ireland, research shows"},"content":{"rendered":"

Consumer spending on golf in the Republic of Ireland alone is now worth \u20ac379 million annually, according to a new report by Sheffield Hallam University.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018A Satellite Account for Golf in the Republic of Ireland<\/span><\/a><\/em>\u2019 was conducted by academics in the University’s Sport Industry Research Centre to evaluate golf’s economic value to the Republic of Ireland.<\/p>\n

It found that the top three elements of this consumer spending are \u20ac94 million on club membership fees, \u20ac46 million on food and beverage in clubs and \u20ac39 million on golf equipment.<\/p>\n

A similar report<\/span><\/a> was published in 2016, which detailed the contribution golf made to the economy of the United Kingdom. Today\u2019s report considers the impact of golf in the Republic of Ireland. These figures when taken in conjunction with the previous findings provide an overall figure for the island of Ireland.<\/p>\n

Commissioned by the Confederation of Golf in Ireland (CGI) and The R&A, the research also shows that 9,030 people are directly employed within the golf sector on the island of Ireland, with 6,800 of these in the Republic. Golf clubs are the most significant employers (34%), followed by the golf equipment and sportswear sectors (13%) and the tourism and accommodation industries (11%).<\/p>\n

These employment levels equate to the golf industry being responsible for 0.3% of total employment in the Republic of Ireland \u2013 the equivalent of one in 300 jobs.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Gross Value Added (GVA) of the golf industry in the Republic of Ireland was \u20ac202 million, which equates to 0.1% of the entire Irish economy. The major contributors to golf’s GVA are the activities of golf clubs, including food and beverage operations and recreational golf, at \u20ac89m (44%).<\/p>\n

The GVA analysis also highlights golf\u2019s important association with the golf equipment, clothing and footwear sectors (\u20ac21m), tourism and accommodation in golf resorts (\u20ac25m) and the construction and real estate industries (\u20ac15m).<\/p>\n

There are 281,000 adult golfers in the Republic of Ireland (103,000 in Northern Ireland), of whom 160,000 play the sport at least once every four weeks. Figures show that the golf participation rates in the Republic of Ireland are higher than the UK as a whole, with 7.9% of the Irish population participating in golf on an annual basis compared with a 7.4% participation rate in the UK.<\/p>\n

\u2018A Satellite Account for Golf in the Republic of Ireland<\/em>\u2019 also found that:<\/p>\n