"We make a living by
what we get, we make
a life by what we give." --
Winston Churchill

Cyprus Golf Development Conference

The Cyprus Golf Development Conference was held for the very first time in Paphos on October 15, 2005. Organised with great success by the RICS Cyprus (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors), the one-day forum was supported by the Cyprus Scientific and Technical Chamber (ETEK) and co-ordinated by Nicosia-based IMH Consulting Ltd. INVgolf was one of the sponsors of this important event and played a key role in helping to organise speakers and panellists in addition to advising on the conference agenda and international promotion of the landmark forum.

The audience of predominantly Greek-Cypriot developers, hotel owners, real estate specialists, government officials, Cyprus Tourism Organisation representatives, investors, hoteliers, surveyors, consultants and resort owners listened carefully to the keynote speakers and were later involved in a heated debate on the future of Cyprus's rapidly-emerging golf resort and golf integrated leisure real estate industry. Development, investment, environmental, social, real estate, government policy and many other issues were discussed during this one-day conference (photo courtesy of RICS).

More than 150 delegates attended the Cyprus Golf Development Conference at the award-winning Aphrodite Hills resort in Paphos. Participants and speakers came from Cyprus, Greece, Poland, UK, USA, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Mauritius and The Netherlands. The Aphrodite Hills resort, Cyprus' first integrated golf, leisure and real estate development, received the INVgolf award for 'Best New Integrated Leisure Resort in Europe 2003' during the pan-European GOLF Investment and Real Estate Conference & Exhibition in Athens.

Front row (from L to R): Dr. Falk Billion, Ben Martin (Economics Research Associates) and Peter Michel Heilmann (INVgolf) were among the keynote speakers at this landmark one-day forum (photo courtesy of RICS)

The majority of the delegates were decision-makers and held executive positions as partners, CEOs or directors of their organisations.

The conference attracted a wide range of delegates, including developers, investors, bankers, consultants, government officials, hoteliers, architects and other professionals.

(Photo courtesy of RICS)

An overview of the issues discussed follows below:

• One should balance economics, market trends (like competition and lifestyles) and vision.

• Key factors for success are location (accessibility, competition, suitability), product (business philosophy, design, construction and maintenance) and management (most projects fail due to poor management).

• Countries such as Cyprus, Greece and Spain promote golf resort development for upgrading and diversifying their tourism product. The government planning and incentives seek to increase season ability and revenues, special tourism infrastructure and investments.

• The session on How to Make Money from Golf focused on financing models, course clustering and maximising the speed of play as well as the ’feel good’ factor. 
  Delegates had the opportunity of a sneak preview of a global market survey. Key motivating factors mainly personal interest vs. profit making were analysed for various world regions as well as how investors selected developers and architects based on what criteria. Average golf course development projects in the region require four years to complete and obtaining necessary permits was rated as the highest of the 10 main difficulties during development. Cost analysis indicated that 11% were spent in the pre-construction phase and 45% of costs in this phase were spent on design fees. 33% of total costs were spent on earthworks. On average, a 9-hole golf course costs three times less than an 18-hole one.

• Changes in the club and ball technology are influencing the carry distance and design parameters. Various design options were discussed and key design success factors are the natural beauty, well-integrated layout and the variety of challenge presented including some dramatic features.

• Operating profiles of various golf courses are driven by who owns them, what is their profit motive and where is the course located. Valuation of the golf course will depend on the operating profile and its potential of repositioning it. The best way to increase value is to increase revenue, as expenses tend to occur in a fixed narrow range.

• A sustainable, well-designed golf course should be environmentally friendly, integrated in the local economy and society and should be efficiently managed and profitable.

Sustainable development

The Committed to Green Foundation was invited to present at this important event for the development of the game of golf ion Cyprus. Jonathan Smith, Jonathan Smith, who took over the running of the Committed to Green Foundation in March 2005, was asked to give a neutral perspective on golf's environmental impacts, and to suggest ways to ensure golf courses are developed and managed to the highest environmental standards.

As you would imagine there was particular concern over the impacts of golf on limited water resources.

Concern was also raised that a more detailed strategic Environmental Assessment should be carried out so that the 'carrying capacity' of the island can be established. This would not only help the authorities define just how many courses the island could sustain, but would also provide information that would help in evaluating individual project proposals. The application of sound EIA for every project was emphasised.

The Cyprus Tourism Ministry and Tourism Organisation both openly acknowledged their responsibilities with regard to international sustainable tourism codes, and to European Commission regulations.

Overall it was a well attended and valuable event, with a particularly open and frank debate between local organisations and developers.

UK-based Ken Moodie of the European Institute of Golf Course Architects (EIGCA) led an excellent workshop on the role and responsibilities of the golf course architect.

For further information on the results of this conference and/or to receive Peter Michel Heilmann's PowerPoint presentation and speech (of approximately 6 MB) delivered at the Cyprus Golf Development Conference, contact INVgolf. Click here to download an 8-page PDF document with the conference brochure.

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