AN expanding Okehampton-based company is pitching for new customers in the fast growing area of golf travel information.

Golfing Guides, of Red Lion Yard, began trading two years ago after acquiring Beacon Books, a small guidebook publisher. The company?s success has resulted in the creation of four new jobs with the prospect of four more this year.

With support from Business Link Devon and Cornwall and the South West Investment Group Ltd, the company successfully ?sliced? into the market by expanding into both traditional and Internet publishing, with a focus on providing helpful information about where to play and stay while on golfing holidays.

Managing director Andrew Finley worked with Business Link personal business adviser Graham Kidson to develop the company?s electronic publishing arm, and to break new ground beyond the golf arena with a marketing drive for a unique web-based product for the hospitality sector.

BnBmail, which was developed in-house, allows bed and breakfast and letting facilities to show online their up-to-the minute availability.

?It?s an innovative solution to a pressing business need,? said Mr Finley. ?Research shows that users of the internet expect to see real-time availability for their chosen venue, thereby preventing the frustration of wasted telephone calls to fully booked sites.?

He said the availability update area was designed with simplicity in mind.

Also developed in-house, Teemail allows golf clubs to cut down the amount of time spent fielding green fee enquiries on the telephone, while simultaneously allowing requests to be made 24 hours a day. It gives clubs a tailor-made electronic diary which can be made available across any number of websites.

Golfing Guides has also secured exclusive UK and Ireland distribution rights to Metline, an online golf weather guide service which offers personalised forecasts for 4,800 European golf clubs and operates in ten languages.

It can be customised through satellite mapping to provide a current forecast for any specific property or course and has been taken up by the De Vere Hotels chain.

As well as supporting the development of the new web-based products, Business Link has helped the business to access loan funding for more traditional publishing ventures.

The company?s paperback guides to golf courses and resorts in Europe and North America include Golfing Gems, a second edition of which is about to be launched.

Featuring the content created for the books, a website at

http://www.golfingguides.net">www.golfingguides.net has received three million ?hits? since traffic was first measured last March.

Looking to the future, the company has its sights set on the emerging golf destinations of Thailand, South Africa and the Czech Republic and has already created a website for Thailand where it organises tailor-made golf travel packages for groups.

?Golf-related travel is the fastest growing area of the travel industry,? said Mr Finley. ?The market has doubled in the last five years and is continuing to grow faster than any other sector.

?More than 40,000 Europeans are on a golf holiday every day of the year and two-thirds of these will have made their own decisions about destination, where to play and choice of accommodation.?

He added: ?I?m delighted with the way we?re progressing and with the crucial help given by the Business Link team which was invaluable in setting up the business.?