Les sept amis du marketing du golf en Asie

Bangkok, Thaïlande, 1er juillet 2015 - Presque tous les jours de l'année, les carrousels à bagages des terminaux des aéroports internationaux de Bangkok, Phuket, Singapour, Ho Chi Minh Ville et Kuala Lumpur dégorgent des centaines de jeux de clubs de golf appartenant à des golfeurs amateurs de tous les coins du globe. D'ici la fin de l'année, un million de sacs de golf auront transité par les aéroports de ces villes et d'autres villes d'Asie du Sud-Est, leurs propriétaires participant à un secteur touristique qui connaît une croissance à deux chiffres depuis cinq ans. Les golfeurs qui visitent l'Asie du Sud-Est viennent en groupe, en couple, en tant que membres de clubs de golf basés à domicile, dans le cadre de programmes de motivation d'entreprise et même seuls pour découvrir et, de plus en plus, redécouvrir le golf le plus convivial et le plus rentable de la planète. Il y a de fortes chances que l'un des sept consultants en vente et en marketing de l'agence de Bangkok, le Golfasian auront coordonné ces voyages ; un groupe hétéroclite de Blancs qui vendent et offrent des expériences de vacances de golf à des gens de tous les coins du monde. Parmi eux, un ingénieur chimiste américain venu en Thaïlande pour prendre sa retraite et qui s'est retrouvé à la tête de la société de tourisme golfique la plus prospère d'Asie, un ancien champion de golf suisse de la PGA qui parle quatre langues, un professionnel australien de la PGA qui a cessé d'enseigner le golf pour vendre du tourisme golfique, un comptable d'entreprise certifié de l'Ohio, des accros du golf du Yorkshire et de Sydney et un ressortissant allemand doté d'une expérience en marketing hors pair. Le propriétaire de Golfasian, Mark Siegel, 55 ans, a passé la dernière décennie au Royaume-Uni à développer une entreprise qu'il a contribué à financer sans avoir l'intention de s'impliquer activement dans ses activités quotidiennes. Mais lorsque son associé a décidé d'aller jouer au golf, M. Siegel a pris la direction de l'entreprise et l'a développée pour en faire le leader du marché en Asie. En tant que membre de plusieurs clubs de la capitale thaïlandaise et de ses environs, M. Siegel estime avoir joué sur plus d'un tiers des quelque 600 terrains de golf de l'Asie du Sud-Est. L'année dernière, Golfasian a accueilli 14 780 touristes golfeurs qui ont joué près de 75 000 parcours. Après 25 ans passés dans l'industrie des semi-conducteurs, Mark Siegel a non seulement créé sa propre entreprise, mais il a également joué un rôle majeur dans le développement du tourisme golfique par d'autres moyens. Il a participé à la création de Golf In A Kingdom (The Thai Golf Experience), la plus grande organisation de ce type en Asie. Il est coprésident d'un groupe similaire, Golf Coast Vietnam, évalue les parcours de golf asiatiques pour plusieurs groupes industriels et gère le site web le plus complet sur le golf en Asie. www.golfasian.com as well as numerous other websites that promote inbound golf tourism in Asia. Among Golfasian’s international sales managers is Marco Scopetta, a former Swiss PGA champion who played in the World Cup and later served as general secretary of the Swiss PGA. He moved to Thailand in 2008 and has been based in Bangkok since 2011. Most of Marco’s clients come from Europe, including his his home country, France and Germany. Marco says the weather, great value for money and the friendliest caddies in Asia make Thailand a perfect golf holiday destination. “People repeatedly come back to Thailand to enjoy the true meaning of a holiday,” he notes. Australian PGA member, Paul Tudor, hails from Melbourne and has been in Asia since he went to Singapore as a golf instructor in 2008. Paul, who lives in Pattaya, sells golf holidays to Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand. He says excellent golf courses, value for money, the caddie experience, cultural and sightseeing options are among the main attractions for international golf tourists to Thailand. “Golf in Asia is a unique experience. The courses are fantastic and combined with the caddie experience and hospitality it makes for a memorable experience. If you haven’t played golf in SE Asia, I highly recommend it.” Ohio native, Jim Mullet, is a certified accountant with 26 years in corporate management positions including working with media giant, Time Warner. He moved to Asia in 2003, immediately joined Golfasian and has become the company’s northern Thailand specialist. “Chiang Mai offers unbeatable value for money, a more relaxed and friendly attitude and is ‘more Thai’ than some other areas,” Jim says. He believes caddies are a big part of what makes golf in Asia unique. “In the US I always walked and carried my own bag, as only a small number of high-end private clubs like Pebble Beach and Pinehurst had caddies. If you play alone, you are never really alone here. Caddies’ ability to read greens and speak English varies, but even inexperienced caddies are good fun and have a sense of humor. They don’t care how well or badly you play, they just want to see you happy and having fun, because then they will have fun too. “It was real life experience that prepared me for this position,” he says. “When I was a teenager, I was delegated to pick out the golf courses we should play during family holidays to Myrtle Beach and book the tee times.” Golf addict Ian Morgan comes from Yorkshire and joined Golfasian in 2011 after working for a hotel in Phuket. As the company’s general manager for Hua Hin and Phuket, he says Hua Hin has become the most popular destination due its superb climate, good value and proximity of courses to town. He says the whole Thailand golf experience is hard to beat. “The courses may not be the best in the world, but great weather, good caddies and every round of golf is a lovely experience. Ireland is my favourite place to play golf, but as I get older, the wind, driving rain and raking your own bunkers seem less appealing!” Australian golf tourism specialist, Mark Penfold, spent most of his adult life in the golf industry before starting his own golf tour company. As director of golf events for Golfasian, Mark is responsible for larger group events and Asia Golf Week tournaments held throughout the year. “Currently we have 10 events per year and will be increasing that to 12 with the inclusions of Bali and Malaysia from 2016,” he explains. He says while most golf visitors visit Hua Hin, Pattaya and Chiang Mai, inquiries for Vietnam are increasing. “It s a hidden gem in terms of quality golf courses as most are only five to seven years old.” Mark says service in Asia is far better than in western countries – taking clubs out of the boot of the car on arrival, locker room and practice facilities, caddies, conditioning of courses are just some examples. “It’s a complete package. You play quality courses without a large expense. South-east Asia is a destination you need to visit once. Once you come, you will keep coming back each year.” Golfasian’s marketing expert, Pascal Orczech is a native of Germany who came to Taiwan in 1997 and attended an American high-school. He then taught English in Taiwan for two years, and subsequently secured a Bachelor of Business Administration in marketing from a university in Bangkok. After working in a travel company and his own business, he has been with Golfasian for six years. As director of business development, Pascal has overseen a lead-generation business increase of more than 320 percent using online and offline strategies. “The team at Golfasian works incredibly hard to ensure clients have the best golf holiday experience,” he says. “Our customer feedback confirms this over and again.” Pascal says western countries can learn a lot from service standards in Asia.”Value for money is second to none, but Asian countries must be careful not to allow tourism growth to spoil the experience and bring lower service and quality standards.” For golf packages and bookings to Asia, visit www.golfasian.com Suivre Golfasian sur Facebook. ------------------- Pour des photos et plus d'informations, contacter : Pascal Orczech Directeur du développement commercial / Golfasian Co. pr@golfasian.com