Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

VisitScotland hits out at sky-high accommodation prices for The Open at St Andrews

The Old Course is iconic among golf fans.

Scotland’s tourism chiefs say they don’t condone massive price hikes for accommodation during next year’s Open golf championship in St Andrews.

Hundreds of thousands of people will descend on the Fife town for the 150th tournament in July.

Zach Johnson of the United States tees off on the first hole of the Old Course during the Open in 2015.
Zach Johnson of the United States tees off on the first hole of the Old Course during the Open in 2015.

And demand for hotels and house rentals is already through the roof, despite some sky-high prices.

Among the most expensive is a four-bedroom house within walking distance of the Old Course for £31,678.

VisitScotland says it is understandable accommodation providers want to capitalise on unprecedented visitor numbers.

But it warned of a longer-term impact on Scottish tourism.

From mansions with helipads to budget hotels

While the super-rich are seeking 10-bedroom houses with helipads during the week-long event, there is also demand for more modest accommodation.

According to Booking.com, 96% of the St Andrews accommodation on its site is already sold out.

The cheapest option available there is a bed and breakfast for £4,323 for two people.

Scottish golfer Ewen Ferguson on the Old Course during the Dunhill Cup.
Scottish golfer Ewen Ferguson on the Old Course during the Dunhill Cup.

The town’s Premier Inn is also fully booked and the closest one with rooms is 17 miles away in Dundee.

So anyone planning to stay in Fife between July 10 and 17 will need to get a move on.

VisitScotland says demand is huge.

“The last time The Open was staged in 2015 in St Andrews, more than 237,000 spectators enjoyed the week of golf,” said a spokesperson.

“And many more people were on site and staying in the area for the staging of the event, guests and media.

“Two-thirds of those spectating are thought to come from outside of Scotland.”

The Open brings £100m to Fife

The economic benefit to Fife of hosting The Open is estimated to be more than £100 million.

And golf tourism generally, excluding major events, brings in £51.7m a year and supports 1,800 jobs.

Golf is big business.
Golf is big business.

This means it’s important to ensure people can afford to stay.

“Hosting The Open delivers a long-term lasting impact in terms of tourism so it is important to ensure a positive experience and value for those attending,” said VisitScotland.

“There are a range of options on offer to suit every budget and help consumer choice.”

The spokesperson added: “VisitScotland does not condone the small number of operators who are significantly increasing their prices as we have to look at the longer picture for Scottish tourism.

“The 150th Open is set to be the biggest ever held with unprecedented demand.

“And while it is understandable businesses want to capitalise on that, it is important to have longer-term interests at heart.”