by Zeynep Cermen
ISTANBUL, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- As a resort city off the Mediterranean Sea, Turkey's Antalya is rapidly becoming a new hub for golfers with its warm climate and favorable golf courses.
Having 16 high-standard golf courses, Antalya has hosted over 120,000 golfers from 30 countries this year, according to the Antalya Golf Sports Club.
"Golfers from all over the world have increasingly started to prefer Antalya," said Ferit Turgut, head of the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies, Mediterranean region.
"We are receiving a significant demand from golf professionals across the globe, as we are frequently organizing important tournaments," he told Xinhua.
For Turgut, Antalya's warm climate and the convenience of its golf courses are the main drivers behind the rising interest.
"Golf professionals generally prefer to play in different courses each day," Turgut explained, saying that "in that sense, Antalya presents an excellent advantage."
With golf courses very close to each other, all within the range of 15 km, Antalya can fully meet the players' needs.
"We are using our courses very effectively and intensely, organizing highly distinguished games," said Turgut.
The Turkish Airlines Open, one of the most important tournaments in the world, is hosted each year in Antalya, bringing together the world's leading golf professionals.
The tournament has become an essential part of the European Tour schedule since 2013, offering a combined prize of seven million U.S. dollars.
Regnum Carya Golf and Spa Resort, the venue for the tournament, has Turkey's first heathland golf course.
"Antalya's warm climate is suitable to draw international golfers during the winter season as well," Turgut said.
The so-called golf tourism in the country lasts generally for at least nine months, from September till the end of May.
The golf tourism has generated 125 million euros (141.6 million dollars) in revenue for Turkey this year, said Cahit Sahin, president of the International Association of Golf Tour Operators Turkey and Antalya Golf Sports Club.
"The golfers spend an average of one week in the region, spending around 1,000 euros during their stay," Sahin was quoted as saying by the state-run Anadolu Agency.
According to Turgut, a minimum of 10 to 15 percent growth year on year is expected in 2019, if things go at the current pace in the sector.
Reservations made for next year have already surpassed the expectations, according to the Antalya Golf Sports Club.
Golfers visiting Antalya are mostly from the Scandinavian countries, Germany and Britain.
"Our international guests mostly miss the quality of our golf courses and the quality and richness of services they have received here," said Sahin.
In the view of Turgut, the lack of direct flights by international airlines to Antalya constitutes a critical obstacle to the sector's development.
"To make Antalya a firm world gulf hub, international airlines need to have direct flights," he said.
For his part, Sahin suggested that the golf tourism be expanded to other parts of the country, like the resort town of Bodrum in the southwestern province of Mugla.
"So that we would be able to extend the golf season in our country to 12 months," he said.
