Tourists driving £320m impact to 'the home of golf'

GOLF tourism brings almost £320million each year to the sport’s traditional “home”, new figures have revealed.

- By Richard Elias

That is the equivalent of hosting three Open Championships annually.

The astonishing figures also show that golf supports 4,300 full-time jobs throughout Scotland.

The findings conducted by the Sport Industry Research Centre at Sheffield Hallam University calculated the amount visitors spent directly on golf in St Andrews as well on hotels, restaurants, bars, shops and local travel providers.

Every £1 that passes through the tills of St Andrews Links from visitors sees an additional £3.43 being generated for other businesses in the town.

Golfers have a choice of seven courses in St Andrews managed by St Andrews Links Trust, a charity which see all of its revenue reinvested into the sport, facilities and in community initiatives across the region.