The geographical position, system and modelling of golf tourism

Abstract

This paper aims to present the spatial assumptions related to the tourism theory and the geographical correlations of golf tourism. It att empts to defi ne the concept and to study golf as a tourism product in a systemic approach: it presents its internal and external environment. In the fi rst place, golf courses being the most important factor of golf tourism and the interconnection of other supply elements are discussed. In the second place, the paper highlights the role of the intermediary sector specialised in satisfying golf-related special needs. In the third place, it describes the characteristic features of golf demand. It presents the Western European, Mediterranean and Central European regions (the most preferred areas of research), and it establishes the theory of ABC golf destinations in the Mediterranean region, i.e. tourism supply elements in a unique spatial arrangement. The research results include the interpretation of Maslow's hierarchy of motivational needs from the golfers' approach, which helps us understand the golfers' decision-making process and the stages thereof. Based on the theory, the author establishes the golf ball model of the interconnected material conditions of tourism in which the layers of the basic, infra- and suprastructure required for golf tourism are interconnected like the concentric shells of a sphere.