WITH an annual influx of 4.6 million golfing tourists into Ireland this year - an increase of almost two million in the past decade - the formation of the Ireland Golf Tour Operators Association (IGTOA), which was launched by the Minister for Tourism, Enda Kenny, yesterday, was an inevitable consequence of what is now almost an industry in its own right.

The Association has been formed by 12 Irish based operators who will be guided by a code of standards which Kenny said "should be a thumb print, a quality mark" for the trade. The Minister also said that by the end of the century, he hoped golf would be responsible for bringing in five million golf tourists to this country annually, spending in excess of £2.4 billion each year.

Marty Carr has been installed as Secretary of the new organisation, with Jerry Dunworth as Chairman. To be eligible for membership, companies must offer extensive programmes, have been in business for over two years, and have a turnover of at least £250,000 a year. "I hope IGTOA will be a positive force and voice for operators," said Dunworth.

Meanwhile, the Leinster Branch of the Golfing Union of Ireland has affiliated The Hibernian Golf Club, based at Citywest in Saggart, Co Dublin.