IGTM Discovery made its first appearance at the PGA Show in Orlando, building anticipation ahead of its official launch alongside IGTM this October. While IGTM remains the world’s leading golf tourism event, the new and adjacent IGTM Discovery is set to become Europe’s largest dedicated golf trade exhibition when it debuts in Cannes later this year. The PGA Show offered clear signals about the industry’s direction, from rising demand for richer educational content to the rapid growth of technology and the enduring importance of face-to-face meetings. Here, IGTM Event Manager Fiona Ashton shares her key takeaways and explains how they are shaping the vision for IGTM Discovery in Europe.  

One of the most impressive elements of the PGA Show was not just the scale of the exhibition floor, but the strength of the education programme alongside it. The breadth of topics was striking.

Attending an international show requires significant investment, time away from the business, travel costs and team resource. As well as seeing products on the show floor, visitors are increasingly looking for broader value, insight, and open discussion.

The range of topics covered at the PGA Show was impressive, and there is always room to dig deeper into the education of burning issues that foster discussion and debate, whether it is coaching excellence, technology for coaching, revenue growth or sustainability. This applies to PGA Professionals and directors of golf alike.  

Technology is still reshaping every corner of the golf industry, and its influence is only accelerating. Following our ongoing research and insights gathered at the PGA Show, golf technology is set to have a strong presence at IGTM Discovery.

The category spans everything from distance measuring devices to club management software, and from performance simulators to wearable innovations now stocked in pro shops worldwide. For the golf travel audience, it underpins distribution, operations, customer experience and revenue growth.  

At a time when digital communication dominates our professional lives, the value of face-to-face interaction is only increasing, not diminishing. This was abundantly clear at the PGA Show.

One strength of IGTM has always been its pre-scheduled one-to-one meetings, meaningful relationship building and high-quality networking.

We will look to implement the trade show concept that allows delegates to physically experience products and services. IGTM Discovery will create space for brands and suppliers to showcase innovations in a tangible way.  

The PGA Show has established itself as the true global gathering within the industry. Beyond being the largest event of its kind, it benefits from taking place in the world’s biggest golf market and attracts an international audience, blending business with valuable networking opportunities.

That naturally prompts the question: why isn’t there a European equivalent?

With the launch of IGTM Discovery alongside IGTM, the sister to the PGA Show, we are looking to build that opportunity.

IGTM Discovery broadens the proposition by creating a dedicated space for trade professionals from across the wider global golf industry.

Together, the two events will unite multiple sectors under one roof in Europe, creating a dynamic, industry-wide platform with international reach.

In Orlando, we were able to meet with the team responsible for marketing the PGA Show internationally and brief them on the launch of IGTM Discovery.

RX Global is uniquely placed to launch this event alongside IGTM with the International Sales Group (ISG), a sales team embedded in the golf industry that has wide reach around the globe.

As a result, we now have a knowledgeable, golf-focused international sales force with an established client base ready to support the event’s growth.