Guardian: "UK's old university towns hit by Covid-19 'double whammy'"

The Guardian’s Caroline Davies considers the state of United Kingdom university towns and while several have ties to golf, there is really only one: St Andrews.

From her story:

Around 9,000 students make up one-third of the population, and Scotland’s oldest university, which generated £268.6m for the local economy in 2018, is the town’s major employer, supporting 4,260 jobs.

With the scenic coastline of north-east Fife, and the Royal and Ancient a golfing destination par excellence, tourism is the second major employer.

“But we are a long way from knowing how students will be able to come, and how many. It’s very difficult to see how international students will be able to return in any numbers at all if normal term times are able to start again,” said Alan Mitchell, chief executive of the Fife chamber of commerce. “Equally, it’s hard to see international golf tourism happening any time soon.”