Eighteen-hole golf courses in Bermuda brought in an average revenue of $3 million, more than the average Caribbean country, but considerably less than Dubai, according to KPMG's latest survey.

KPMG in Bermuda, in association with KPMG's Golf Advisory Practice in Europe, the Middle East & Africa (EMA), will present the results of the inaugural Caribbean Golf Benchmark Survey at a special breakfast seminar held at their Crown House offices today.

Steve Woodward, KPMG director and local business co-ordinator, said: "A total of almost 40 courses participated in the Caribbean component of the survey, including eight Bermuda courses. We are confident that once the results are shared across the region this number will grow significantly. Indeed in just two years the overall number of participants in the broader EMA survey has almost doubled to include 1,500 golf courses in 48 different countries."

KPMG will also highlight the survey regionally at the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Investment Conference, held in Trinidad in early May, but Bermuda will get an exclusive presentation of the survey findings today.

The Golf Benchmark Survey is a market intelligence study which collects and shares comparable golf industry benchmarks across the region on issues such as basic course, membership, green fee and cart/buggy rental, round, and financial information.

Mr. Woodward noted that that there were a number of interesting trends coming out of the survey.

"We are certain the local courses will be interested to learn that the average revenues for 18-hole golf courses in Bermuda were $3 million, compared with approximately $2.1 million for the Caribbean region as a whole," he said.

"However, based on the wider EMA survey, the top performing region is Dubai with an average reported revenue of around $8.8 million for an 18-hole golf course. Another notable statistic was that 76 percent of the golf courses surveyed in the Caribbean region indicated their future business prospects as "good" or "excellent". Golf courses in Bermuda are the most optimistic as two-thirds of our sample view their future prospects as excellent."

Participating course owners and operators, together with lenders and others interested industry professionals have been invited to attend the seminar.