Fife Tourism Partnership

Home of Golf to Champion Sustainable Golf

14 June 2022

It's been six months since Scotland hosted COP26, the UN’s climate change conference, which saw the launch of the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism. At this event VisitScotland supported GEO Foundation’s ‘Driving Net Zero’ – a special event to spotlight and discuss golf and climate action.

VisitScotland once again partnered with GEO Foundation to connect with, support and help accelerate sustainability in and through golf.

This partnership establishes a connection and alignment between our responsible tourism goals, and the sustainability activities being carried out through this year’s leading golf tournaments in Scotland including: The 150th Open, the AIG Women’s Open, the Genesis Scottish Open, the Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open, The Senior Open Championship and the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

There will also be a focus on boosting direct support for Scottish golf clubs, including the provision of OnCourse® Scotland, a national version of the international programme for sustainable club and course management. Club engagement will be delivered in collaboration with Scottish Golf, helping bring significant awareness-raising to the effort, to involve more Scottish clubs in actions that can help strengthen efficiency, sustainability and popularity of clubs across the country.

Scotland is The Home of Golf – the country which forged the game, and then developed and shared what is now a global sport. This year we are firmly in the spotlight again, with no less than six prestige international events taking place at world renowned venues across the country.

Given that golf represents such a large part of our tourism sector, we want to align with our overall approach to responsible tourism and help golf facilities and high-profile tournaments on their journey.

We're delighted to collaborate with GEO Foundation, dedicated as they are to advancing sustainable golf from their headquarters in North Berwick, and also with our national governing body Scottish Golf who share our commitment to build sustainability into the long-term popularity and resilience of the sport.

Malcolm Roughead, Chief Executive, VisitScotland

We are extremely proud to carry the support of VisitScotland out across the non-profit work we do to inspire, guide and promote sustainability in and through golf. It is a great fit in terms of our international advocacy and programmes, and support for golf in Scotland.

We are particularly excited about how the collaboration will help connect sustainable tourism and sustainable golf; support the leadership of leading events; and how together with Scottish Golf we can guide and reward clubs across the country.

Jonathan Smith, Executive Director, GEO Foundation

Responsible tourism - what is it, why is it important?

Responsible tourism focuses on a collaborative approach for re-building and growing the value of tourism in a way that makes better places for people to live and visit in every corner of Scotland. It maximises the positive benefits of tourism for everyone, including host communities and the environment.

Find out more about our approach to developing responsible tourism in Scotland.

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