Top honour for club secretary at Royal County Down

24 May 2017

THE secretary of Royal County Down Golf Club has been presented with a prestigious tourism award.

David Wilson received a Local Tourism Hero award at last week’s Tourism Northern Ireland Awards at Enniskillen Castle where the cream of the Province’s tourism industry was honoured during a glittering awards ceremony.

The delighted recipient — who had no idea he was in the running for the honour — said it is one he shares with everyone at what is widely regarded as one of the world’s top golf courses.

Mr Wilson explained he had been invited to attend the event in Co. Fermanagh as a guest of Tourism NI and had no idea about what was to unfold during the awards ceremony.

The secretary said the management of the stunningly beautiful links course at the foothills of the Mournes, which was voted the number one in the world two years ago by Golf Digest magazine, is very much a team effort where everyone has an important role to play.

He said the tourism award is further recognition of the important role Royal County Down plays in boosting tourism in not just Newcastle and South Down, but in Northern Ireland.

Mr Wilson said the award is not an individual honour, but one for the club and all the staff who do an excellent job in all aspects of its operation and management, attracting golfers from across the world, with the majority coming from North America.

The club secretary believes he was selected for the award by Tourism NI against the back of Royal County Down doing some good work in terms of tourism over the past few years, specifically with regard to the Irish Open that was staged in Newcastle in 2015 and hailed as an outstanding success by competitors and spectators alike.

Mr Wilson said the award is a recognition of the efforts Royal County Down has made for Newcastle and local tourism and one that everyone associated with the club should share.

“I am merely the leader if you like,” he continued. “We have a great team here and the award is very much a reflection of the efforts they have made.”

The delighted club secretary said the Local Tourism Hero award is more recognition for the Newcastle club whose links course has been graced by the world’s best including Tom Watson, Tiger Woods and Northern Ireland’s very own Rory McIlroy, Darren Clarke and Graeme McDowell.

“We do have an important role to play for tourism not only in Newcastle and South Down but in terms of Northern Ireland. We are very fortunate, along with Royal Portrush, that we do bring in a lot of very high paying tourists. It is recognised that the golf tourists do spend a lot more than the average visitor,” he continued.

“The impact of this locally is quite significant. We are also keen to make sure as we always have done to employ local people and provide visitors for local hotels and restaurants and so on and that is the spin-off from it.”

Mr Wilson said there is no doubt that the golfers who do come to play Royal County Down do add a lot to Newcastle as they will in places like Portrush and Portstewart.

He added: “The key thing is that the majority of our golfers are from North America and they are certainly perceived by the tourist authority to be particularly good tourists from a spend point of view.

“The tourism award is a tremendous honour for Royal County Down and I am absolutely delighted about that. The accolade is one I share with everyone associated with the club.”

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