Final Agenda Set for KPMG Golf Business Forum

With just a few days left to register, viagra sale the final agenda has been set for the ninth edition of the KPMG Golf Business Forum in Italy, ed 17-19 September, order 2012.

More than 200 investors, developers, golf course operators and tourism professionals from 30 countries will gather at the Renaissance Il Ciocco Tuscany Resort & Spa, Barga, for three days of networking, seminars and social gatherings.

Joining Sir Nick Faldo, hotelier Sir Rocco Forte and Jack Nicklaus II, plus Rio 2016 Olympic golf course designer Gil Hanse, are four prominent business and sport visionaries.

HSBC’s Group Head of Sponsorship, Giles Morgan, will present the findings of the ‘Golf’s 2020 Vision’ report, analyzing global trends shaping the future of golf, including the rise of Asia and the influence of women.

Also looking into the future will be KPMG’s Global Head of Innovation, Adam Bates, focusing on the opportunities businesses need to plan and prepare for, while mitigating emerging risks.

Sports marketing consultant Stuart Robertson, creator of Twenty20 Cricket, a format that transformed a staid, traditional sport into fast-paced, captivating entertainment watched by huge global TV audiences, will talk about how to engage people with sport.

Meanwhile Dana Garmany, founder and CEO of Troon Golf, will speak to CNN’s Don Riddell about the five-star hospitality and customer service ethics underpinning his golf course operations business’ global expansion.

Following on, Muriel Muirden from master planner WATG will lead a debate on ‘Back to the Blueprint’ and how golf courses and developments need to rethink their design and operations for the 21st century customer.

The three-day Golf Business Forum, with a special focus on opportunities in Italy and the Mediterranean, will also hear from leading European golf developers, including Zenon Eliades, creator of the acclaimed Elea Estate, Cyprus, featuring a Sir Nick Faldo designed golf course, and Ignacio Perez of La Zagaleta, near Marbella, one of the most exclusive gated residential communities in Europe. They will be joined by Ivan Jakov?i?, President of the Istria Region, looking at the potential for golf tourism in Croatia as part of the wider review on the Mediterranean region.

Andrea Sartori, head of KPMG’s Golf Advisory Practice in EMA, said: “At a time when the wider economic situation remains challenging and golf participation is under pressure, it will be the businesses that innovate and take advantage of evolving demand-side factors, driven by global social trends, that will prove successful.

“That’s why I’m pleased to welcome such influential thought leaders and speakers to this year’s Golf Business Forum, which I believe will be the most informed, insightful and forward looking to date, offering essential market intelligence for investors, developers and all golf businesses.”

For more information about the Golf Business Forum, and for final registration opportunities, visit: www.golfbusinessforum.com