BASSETERRE (5th Jan., 2017): Top junior Golfers of Ontario took time out of their busy training schedule to conduct a golf clinic yesterday with young local golfers, at the Royal St. Kitts Golf Course.
Fourteen junior golfers from Golf Ontario are in St. Kitts participating in a high performance training program. Their week-long visit is a direct result of the partnership between the destination and Golf Ontario established in 2015, which is designed to promote St. Kitts as a premier destination for golf within the key Ontario market.
Golf Ontario in partnership with the St. Kitts Tourism Authority and the St. Kitts Golf Association coordinated a gold clinic on Wednesday to introduce the youth of St. Kitts to the game.
Deputy Prime Minister, and also the Minister of Sports The Hon. Shawn Richards, was present at the start of the clinic to welcome team Ontario to St. Kitts, and to commend the local aspiring golfers.
“The Ministry of Sports is extremely excited and proud to see today’s Junior Gulf Clinic come together,” Minister Richards said. “It continues our efforts to introduce the youth of St. Kitts to a game that is not only global in scope, but that can be enjoyed for a lifetime.”
More than 25 local youth ranging from 6 to 18 years old participated in the clinic. They were split into various groups based on their degree of golfing proficiency. The aspiring golfers seemed eager to learn as they cheerfully took to the green for one-on-one sessions with Ontario’s top junior golfers.
Each year, the group of junior players and their coaches make several training trips to prepare for the upcoming golf season when they will compete against top junior teams from other provinces’ golf associations.
Minister of Tourism, The Hon. Lindsay Grant, noted the visit to St. Kitts was the team’s first training trip outside of North America.
“We are extremely grateful and proud that they have chosen St. Kitts and the Royal St. Kitts Golf Club to sharpen their skills for the upcoming golf season back in Canada,” Minister Grant said. “Their visit is also the first of two Golf Ontario organized group that will come to St. Kitts as part of our golf marketing partnership with their organization. A partnership that is helping us generate consumer awareness among golfers of all ages in Ontario, which is a very important Toronto gateway and central to our inbound tourism strategy in Canada.”
Hosting the Golf Ontario junior group is a key part of St. Kitts’ golf strategy to build and leverage partnerships that will increase awareness for the island as a world-class golf travel destination, particularly focused in Canada. Golf is the number one sport in Canada and it is also one of the most lucrative niche markets that can contribute to a destination’s economy.
More golfers live and play in the province of Ontario than any other region of Canada and Canada represents the second largest source market in North America for air passenger arrivals. There are nearly 6 million golfers in Canada and those who travel overseas to play golf spend $4.6 billion, representing a significant potential market for St. Kitts & Nevis.
