A look back at how Dubai's partnership with the European Tour has driven tourism in the region

It has been 31 years since the European Tour first came to Dubai for the Dubai Desert Classic in 1989. 67-year-old Mark James was the inaugural winner of an event that many were sure would just be a once-off, after all, how could golf in Dubai survive? Indeed, a distance of 8000kms separated Dubai from the birthplace of golf, Scotland, and you couldn't imagine a more contrasting landscape.

Well, here we are in 2020 having witnessed three prosperous decades of collaboration between Dubai and the European Tour. It does, now with the benefit of hindsight, look like an inspired decision to bring golf into Dubai and the cooperation between the Emirate and Europe’s biggest golf tour doesn’t look like ending anytime soon.

The main reason for that success is down to the Race to Dubai season-long event which finishes with the playing of the DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates. The players compete for a purse of $8 million and to make matters more interesting, the winner of the event walks away with a staggering $3 million. The stakes are raised, and this brings the very best in the world to Dubai to fight for golf’s biggest payout for a single win. 

Indeed, gone are the days of the late 1980s where a few brave pioneers arrived in Dubai with their golf sticks and a cautious attitude. The who's who of golf now make for Dubai at the end of the season which has put the country on the map like never before. Take 2019 Race to Dubai winner Jon Rahm, not only is the Spaniard the reigning champion in Dubai, but he is also one of the favorites to win the Masters in 2021, according to William Hill sports betting. This is just further confirmation of the appeal that Dubai has for the world’s best which has subsequently led to an increase in golf tourism in the region. 

Indeed, there have been so many memorable golfing moments beamed to the world from Dubai over the last thirty years, that the desire to see these courses for oneself has grown to fever-pitch. Fortunately, it’s extremely feasible to do so for those in Europe. 

Dubai’s accommodating approach to EU citizens not needing a visa to stay longer than 90 days is a major incentive for European golfers to go and play on these now hallowed courses of world golf. It won't come as any surprise, but they are now coming in their droves given Dubai offers the ideal family holiday and some much-needed winter sun during the frosty months of December to April. 

So, if after a round of golf, any tourists fancy a day out on the beach, or a scuba diving adventure, Dubai has it all and more. As mentioned earlier in the piece, it was indeed a masterstroke to bring the world to Dubai through golf. 

The relationship between the European Tour and Dubai has equally benefited both parties, which suggests that it will only get stronger as the years go by. That will be music to the ears of golfers around the world who are yet to play the bucket list courses of this jewel in the United Arab Emirates.