The EGCOA has today announced the joining of the Portuguese Golf Course Owners Association (CNIG).

With 52 member courses the association is now the 15th National Owners Association to unite in the growing network of European Golf Course Owners.  

Lodewijk Klootwijk EGCOA Director said ‘We are delighted to welcome the Portuguese Golf Course Owners Association (CNIG) into the EGCOA family. Portugal has been a key player in the golf tourism market for years and with our new partnership we aim to learn from their experience and share the knowledge from our European network to assist in the further development of their domestic market.

The Portuguese Golf Course Owners Association (Conselho Nacional da Indústria do Golfe) was founded in 1996 with the objective of uniting the voice of Portuguese golf course owners to grow the game on a national & international level.

In 2011 a partnership with Turismo De Portugal was formed & and visitportugalgolf.com was born. The website is an online platform for the Portuguese golf industry offering an integrated reservations system, aimed at attracting both golfers and golf operators. The website provides Information on golf courses in Portugal, reservations & local tourism information. The site was developed to offer a direct channel for reservations at Portuguese golf courses and in addition provide a one stop portal for golf tour operators to make group bookings.

Diogo Gaspar Ferreira, CNIG President said ‘Joining the European Golf Course Owners Association is a milestone in the history of the Portuguese Golf Course Owners Association (CNIG). In addition to gaining an extensive network of like-minded industry colleagues we aim to learn from national growth initiatives from the various national owners association across the continent.’

He added ‘It’s is very important for the interest of the Portuguese golf industry to be represented on a European level. Our industry has faced some challenges in the past years in relation to VAT rates and taxation and we want to join in the EGCOA’S mission to lobby on this issue in Brussels.

For more information on the Portuguese Golf Course Owners Association click here. For more information on visitportugalgolf.com click here