Speakers at the India Golf Expo 2013 have highlighted the role high-end real estate projects and resort-style residential complexes can play in boosting the popularity of golf in India.

Many new residential complexes in the country are choosing to incorporate golf courses and absorb the costs of building them in a bid to encourage more of India’s large population of high net worth individuals (HNIs) to take up the sport. It is hoped that initiatives like this will improve the availability and quality of golf facilities, and be a great driver for the game in India.

The president of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Associations of India Lalit Kumar Jain expressed his view that golf has the propensity to have wide appeal in India if a high standard of facilities and courses are built. In a keynote address at the conference in Pune, Jain said: “India has a very high number of HNIs but less than one per cent of them play golf, compared with over 25 per cent HNIs playing golf in the developed world.”

Delegates also stressed the importance golf courses can play in India’s growing tourism industry. The Indian Golf Industry Association has recently struck an agreement with the tourism ministry of the Indian government to ensure more funding and investment is put towards developing golf across the nation.

Kevin Ramsey of Golfplan told The Times of India he believes that India has all the facets for golf to thrive in the country. “India’s weather is favourable for the game and a beginning can be made irrespective of the size of land availability,” said Ramsey. “It is more important to create awareness about the sport and encourage young people to play.”

The India Golf Expo 2013 event took place at the Oxford Golf and Country Club in Pune, India. It is hoped that with such positivity surrounding the future of golf in India, the ties between the growing tourism industry and the golf industry will only get tighter.