Budapest, Hungary - Golf in the Gulf is keeping its head above water better than most in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMA) region enjoying the best levels of business performance during 2010, according to the latest KPMG Golf Benchmark Survey.
The survey, available to download free of charge from www.golfbusinesscommunity.com, and published ahead of the KPMG Golf Business Forum at Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club, April 17-19, 2011, reveals some three-quarters (73%) of golf courses in the combined Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region enjoyed 'good' performance during the past 12 months - almost twice as many as in Central Europe (41%), the next best ranked region for this measure.
Facilities in the prosperous Middle East have retained the high levels of performance highlighted in previous surveys, and the development of courses in the Gulf, aligned to high-end resorts and residential communities, continues apace.
Indeed, eight out of 10 course owners (82%) - almost 20% more than the next highest area, Benelux - intend to invest capital in improving their facility during the coming year. This ties in closely with the fact that not one owner in MENA would consider selling up, despite the current global economic downturn.
With these plans in the pipeline, it is of little surprise that courses in MENA, compared to others across EMA, are the most optimistic with regards to future business performance - 81% expect to perform better during 2011 than last year with a fifth having already reached pre-downturn levels of performance.
Hesham Al Qassim, CEO of wasl, the owner of Dubai Golf and one of the leading operators in the region, said: "2010 was a very successful year for Dubai Golf. The results that we have achieved so far in 2011 have also been very encouraging and we have seen positive growth in all areas of the business at both Emirates Golf Club and Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club, in particular we have seen a significant increase in the number of overseas players at both clubs which is encouraging for the remainder of the year."
Despite this continued encouraging performance and perceived continued upsurge in the demand for golf in the Middle East, the region has not been totally immune from the continued fallout from the recession.
While all Middle East golf facilities encouragingly reported at least 'good' or 'average' performances in 2010, this contrasts with the largely 'excellent' reports of previous years. And while more than half (55%) returned a gross operating profit - a growing demand for golf allied to expensive green and annual fees, helping boost revenues - others have been less successful with 45% of facilities keeping costs in check by making staff cuts.
Andrea Sartori, head of KPMG's Golf Advisory Practice, said: "The survey's findings confirm the continued strong performance of the Middle East's golf courses, thanks to its small but growing number of high-quality facilities, and its increasingly prominent place on the global golf stage.
"However, the future optimism of course owners will undoubtedly be tempered by the region's current social and political turbulence - and this may, in the short term, see a fall in the number of tourists upon whom many courses rely for their business."
In recognition of the Middle East's increasingly influential role in world golf, this year's KPMG Golf Business Forum will be held at Dubai's exclusive Park Hyatt resort hotel located within the Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club from April 17-19. For more information visit www.golfbusinesscommunity.com.
The performance report, which surveyed 350 golf facilities across EMA, can be downloaded for free by visiting www.golfbusinesscommunity.com and accessing the Golf Benchmark Survey section.
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© 2011 KPMG Advisory Ltd., a Hungarian limited liability company and a member firm of the KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative (KPMG International), a Swiss entity. All rights reserved.
About Dubai Golf
Dubai Golf, a leisure subsidiary owned by wasl Asset Management Group, manages two of the most established and internationally renowned golf clubs in the Middle East- Emirates Golf Club and Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club. The clubs boast three world class championship golf courses, luxurious clubhouses, restaurants and golf academies, and offer some of the most spectacular locations for golf, events and entertainment in the Gulf.
Dubai Golf also manages an online tee time booking system for its three golf courses, the Majlis, Faldo and Dubai Creek Course, as well as servicing a central reservations office that allows guests to make golf reservations at courses throughout the United Arab Emirates.
About wasl LLC (www.wasl.ae)
wasl LLC, an asset management group, was established by Dubai Real Estate Corporation (DREC) in 2008 to manage its various operations and its investments in the real estate and business sectors. The group currently encompasses three subsidiaries including wasl Properties, wasl Hospitality and Dubai Golf.
Set up to strengthen Dubai's success and to actively secure its future growth objectives for, wasl Asset Management pursues a vision 'to value and be valued by our stakeholders'. The group aim is to achieve this objective by creating a legacy of trust and respect, acting as a responsible corporate entity, and as a platform for innovation in asset management.
The word 'wasl', which means 'connection' in Arabic, is symbolic of the strong relationship the group shares with its stakeholders. wasl was the original name for historic Dubai and represents its profound link to the past, its present rapid evolution as a strategically located global hub and vision for the future.
wasl Properties manages wasl's extensive residential and commercial asset portfolio of over 25,000 residential and commercial properties within the Emirate of Dubai. wasl Properties provides a full range of property management, facilities management and call centre operations providing CRM services to tenants.
wasl Hospitality's portfolio currently comprises seven hotels with over 2,200 rooms. These hotels currently managed by Starwood and the Hyatt include prime center city hotels and residential apartments such as the Hyatt Regency, the Grand Hyatt, Le Meridien Dubai and The Fairway and the resort and spa properties such as The Park Hyatt Dubai, Le Meridien Mina Siyahi Beach Resort and Marina and The Westin Mina Seyahi Beach Resort and Marina.
Adele Cowgill
Marketing & Communications Manager
Dubai Golf
Tel: 04-2054-545
Fax: 04-2956-009
Mob: 056-7592-534
Email: ACowgill@dubaigolf.com
Nabeela Nasser Sait
Senior Corporate Communications Executive
Dubai Golf
Tel: 04-3801-919
Fax: 04-3802-011
Mob: 050-5280-544
Email: nsait@dubaigolf.com
wasl contact
For further information, please visit the website: www.wasl.ae
Or contact:
Samar Abu Hantash
SAHARA Communications
PO Box: 73310 Dubai - UAE
Tel: +971 4 3298996
Fax: +971 4 3298995
Mob: +971 50 1540 727
Email: samar@saharagcc.com
Web Site: www.saharagcc.com
KPMG contact:
Zita Valint
KPMG Golf Advisory Practice
zita.valint@kpmg.hu
tel: +36 1 887 7264
Media contact:
Gary Firkins
Landmark Media International Ltd
gary@landmark-media.com
tel: +44 1780 752790
© Press Release 2011
