BUSINESS is swinging at a York travel firm that specialises in golf holidays.

Glencor Golf, based on Clifton Moor, was founded in 1995 by Peter Renton, who started selling trips to members of his local golf club.

The venture grew over the years, with a shift towards online sales like the rest of the travel sector, but it was hit by the pandemic and its lockdowns.

Now, director Corrie Renton, son of Peter, says business is booming again, with trade up 40 per cent on last year and at record levels. Staffing, at five, is back at pre-pandemic levels and will grow further as business allows.

The most popular resorts booked include the Costa Del Sol in Spain, the Algarve in Portugal, with the Canary Islands also a popular winter escape. Turkey is also popular, but as it becomes less cheap there is now a shift towards playing golf in Morocco.

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Corrie credits growing confidence from travellers, saying this is reflected elsewhere in the travel trade.

Tui has reported a 58 per cent increase in business with 8.7m bookings for 2023.

Easyjet also found 64 per cent of UK holidaymakers intend to go abroad this year, with seven out of ten prioritising holidays over other spending.

Corrie says this is not so surprising.

He explained: “There’s no better way to escape from the pressures of everyday life than taking a well-deserved holiday. Plus, in the case of our clients, they’re also finding some uninterrupted time to indulge in their great passion for golf.”

Another factor contributing to Glencor Golf’s success is more people playing the sport.

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Research from the industry golf body, the R&A, reveals an extra 2.3m players enjoyed playing golf in the UK and Ireland in 2020.

As the pandemic placed restrictions on leisure activities, the use of driving ranges almost doubled (up 87 per cent) compared to 2019, with 4.3m players enjoying a practice swing.

This increased interest in the sport has not waned since COVID-19 restrictions were lifted. A recent study by Sports Insights showed that the number of golf rounds played in the UK was up 10 per cent in 2022 on the previous year.

Corrie said: “The UK itself offers some sensational golf. Many players took the opportunity in 2020 and 2021 to enjoy a staycation and experience playing some of the most famous courses on their doorstep.

“But now people feel freer to travel further afield, it opens up a huge number of incredible golf resorts to discover abroad. Some golfers are experiencing this for the first time in 2023. And we’re sure they’ll agree that there really is nothing like teeing off down a sun-kissed fairway in Europe.”

Based at the Eco Business Centre in York’s Clifton Moor Business Park, the firm has been nominated as England’s Best Outbound Golf Tour Operators of the year on multiple occasions. It also has a 4.9/5 customer satisfaction rating from over 1,300 client reviews on Feefo.

In January the company received a Platinum Trusted Service Award from Feefo for exceptional customer service.

To contact the company, go to glencorgolf.com or ring 01904 406550.