Preparations in full swing for The 153rd Open
The golfing event at Royal Portrush Golf Club is set to make history
Last updated 28th May 2025
In just under 50 days time, the planet’s best golfers will return to the north coast to fight it out for the famous Claret Jug.
Organisers of The 153rd Open Championship have said it will be the largest ever sporting event held in Northern Ireland, with a record number of fans attending Royal Portrush Golf Club.
It will be the largest Championship held outside of St Andrews.
Excitement in the town and surrounding areas is growing will locals describing the atmosphere as being a “buzz”.
'The Open is putting a spotlight on the town'
For the hospitality sector the prestigious sporting event is expected to bring a bumper week of business before, during and after the tournament.
New hospitality businesses are seeking to capitalise on the influx of visitors including the soon-to-be opened The Marcus Portursh.
It is owned by Andras Hotels, which also owns the Safe House and Bank Apartments.
The General Manager of The Marcus Portrush, Heather Stewart- Welsh, says preparations are underway to ensure they are ready to welcome customers.
She said: “I think the overall feeling is really just excitement. Both of our businesses are new from the last Open. So, it's very exciting.
“I think a big one for us has been recruitment and making sure that we have the staff there, the staff fully trained, the staff ready to go.
“At The Marcus Portrush, we are going to be extending our dinner times because we're going to be serving dinner slightly later to facilitate people coming back off the course, and just to make sure we're really kind of being flexible with those timings so we can facilitate as many guests as possible.”
Figures from Tourism Northern Ireland show the overall value of golf tourism reached a record £86.2 million in 2024.
Research conducted by Sporting Insights for Tourism NI’s annual Golf Tourism Monitor show the value has risen by almost 66% since 2019, when The 148th Open was held at Royal Portrush.
Heather said that golf is already “a huge target market” for the businesses with the tournament puttings a global spotlight on the town.
She added: “It's a great opportunity for us to really sell ourselves in the best light and make sure that those return guests are seeing us and want to come back and think of us next time they're planning their trip to Northern Ireland.”
While hoteliers along the north coast have said they are still experiencing ‘phenomenal demand’ for rooms, despite being full booked.
The Managing Director of The Elephant Rock Hotel says it is already at capacity for that week.
Charlotte Dixon said: “The demand for rooms has been phenomenal. Enquiries have increased very quickly for both accommodation and dining. Compared to this time last year, room enquiries are up over 300% - a record since our opening.
“We still have hundreds of people contacting us every week via the phone, email, social media, our website and quite a few are calling in to check with us direct. We can’t help everyone, but the good news is that we do have availability in our restaurant and our terrace area at the front of the hotel.
“The amount of demand around the event is incredible for Portrush.
“It brings a lot of money, obviously, into the economy, local economy. The golfers love to go out to the bars and the restaurants. I've already felt the benefit of this Open coming in the run up.
“We are all about giving them good hospitality, so they go back to America and say, go, go to Portrush."
“I'm not expecting to sell a lot of stuff that week but what we are going to get is legacy.”
With the 50-day countdown officially on retailers in the town are focusing on giving their shops a new lease of life with fresh paint jobs and other improvement.
Norman Hillis owner of R & J Hillis is hoping for a big economic payback in years to come.
Mr Hillis said: “As a business person, I do think The Open coming back again in just six years since the last time is going to be big for Portrush and it's not just going to be big for Portrush, it's going to be big for Northern Ireland as a whole.
“People talk about it being a Portrush event, It's not, a Causeway Coast and Glens event, it's a Northern Ireland event.”
It is estimated that the economic impact of the tournament will be £63 million pounds, while the destination marketing benefit for NI derived from coverage produced via linear television and digital platforms will exceed £150m.
However, during the 148th instalment at the event when Irishman Shane Lowry won the Claret Jug, many local businesses expressed disappointment at not feeling the economic benefits.
However, Mr Hillis said lessons have been learnt and although he doesn't expect to see a boom in sales during the July week, he thinks it will bring economic benefit in future.
He added: “Obviously, if you bought this ticket you are going to be watching the golf.
“You'll be up there on the practice days. You'll be watching all the greats, the top golfers in the whole world. You're not necessarily going to be down in the town to shop.
“I'm not expecting to sell a lot of stuff that week but what we are going to get is legacy.
“But I think it does show our area off very, very well So it's not about what we make that week It's going to be what we get in successive years, and I think it's going to be big payback from it all.”
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