VisitScotland's drive to attract more golfers

SCOTLAND'S national tourism organisation will today launch a drive to entice golfers to Scotland from around the world.

VisitScotland's "Drive it Home" promotion offers visitors the chance to win more than 250 free tee times north of the Border. It also offers the chance to play with Ryder Cup legend Sam Torrance, win tickets to The Open and play the Old Course in St Andrews.

Tourism chiefs hope the promotion will further boost the golf sector, which is worth more than 220million to Scotland and supports about 4,400 jobs.

Philip Riddle, VisitScotland chief executive, said: "We sell Scotland to the world, bringing millions of visitors and billions of pounds to the economy. 'Drive It Home' encourages Scottish golf courses and local businesses to work together and cross-sell; an ethos which, particularly in the current climate, will help the industry achieve its full potential."

VisitScotland said that golfers on average spend twice what other visitors to Scotland do, and that recent research shows that for every 1 spent on a green fee a further 5 is spent elsewhere in the Scottish economy.

The Drive It Home website also targets potential visitors in key golf markets, including Sweden, the United States and Canada.