turkish golf

Turkey's golf tourism sector is set to rise over the course of this year, an industry official has reported.


Ahmet Agaoglu, president of the Turkish Golf Federation, claimed some 85,732 games were played in golf resorts across the country during the first three months of 2007, a rise of 30 per cent from the same period last year, reports Turkish Daily News, citing the Anatolia news agency.

He said: "As the number of golf courses in the region increases, we expect that Turkey's share of golf tourism will increase significantly."

Mr Agaoglu added that the Belek region is set to have 21 golf courses by next year.

He also reported that about 46,600 rounds were played in the area last month, which is considered to be "the epicenter of the golf tourism boom", an increase from 32,800 in March 2006.

Earlier this week, Oktay Varlier, chairman of the Tourism Investors' Association, told Turkish Press that 21.4 million tourists will visit the county over the year.