Several businesses are crying foul about the impact of the months-long political stalemate, and the local golf equipment market is no exception, with operators complaining their sales are hard hit by the crisis.
Golf equipment sales have been sluggish the last few months, but golf courses still report no effect from the political protests. Tawatchai Khemgumnerd
Thanayos Tubtim, manager of the Sports Mall Golf department of the Mall Group, said the golf market has been feeling the pinch from political protests, which seem unlikely to end in the foreseeable future.
“Sports Mall sales have dropped by about 10% or 50-60 million baht,” he said. “If the sales of other shops outside the Mall Group are included, the figures may amount to 1 billion baht, as golf equipment and accessories are luxury goods that potential buyers may skip when sentiment is not positive.”
Nisarat Chaimongkolchai, marketing manager of TaylorMade-Adidas Golf, said the worldwide golf industry has been sluggish since 2013 because of the global economic slowdown. But the political problems in Thailand mean the industry here has been affected more than its neighbours, she said.
The protests started in November, the beginning of the high season for golf and tourism.
“Our sales at Paragon, Emporium and Thaniya malls dropped drastically,” she said.
“Usually our revenues rely heavily on these three locations.”
However, she still holds out hope sales will improve in the third and fourth quarters once the political conflict eases.
Nantaka Atamasirikul, marketing assistant at Callaway Golf (Thailand), said the company’s sales fell by almost 30% during the final quarter of last year and first quarter of this year.
Thailand’s golf equipment, apparel and shoes industry are estimated at 1.5-2 billion baht, making up 13% of the total projected sporting goods and equipment market of some 14 to 15 billion.
While golf equipment companies are struggling, golf courses are still welcoming golfers.
Sarinee Leksuwan, manager at Panya Indra Golf Club in Bangkok, said golf courses were hardly affected by the ongoing protests.
“The impact was lower than expected, as most golf courses are not located close to protest sites,” he said.
Kulton Meesommont, chairman of the East Coast Golf Courses Management Association, said courses in Eastern Thailand still enjoy and welcome a great number of golfers during the last six months.
“Our 23 member courses are almost fully booked,” he said, adding most of their golfers were foreigners that came directly from the airport.
“We do feel sorry for our peers who are affected by the crisis.”
Thailand is one of the most popular golf destinations in Asia, home to about 250 golf courses, many designed by famous international architects.
The local golf business is attracting more foreign investments due to competitive pricing on green fees and other related services compared with other countries in the region with the exception of Vietnam, Myanmar and Laos.
Recent surveys found more overseas golfers are interested in playing golf in Thailand. Average spending per golfer is usually at least 4,000 baht per day in the main target markets of Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and Europe.
The golf market in Thailand is expected to continue to grow as playing golf becomes popular among Thais, especially families. The golf market is expanding to include every age range.
A survey last year by the Tourism Authority of Thailand found golf was one of four high-end segments earning the country over 130 billion baht, with 7.98 million trips a year. Eco-tourism had the highest value at 54.6 billion baht, followed by honeymoons and weddings (34.6 billion), medical tourism (31.1 billion) and golf (10.5 billion).