The beach resort city of Pattaya in Thailand will be transformed into a hub of activity for golf in November this year.
This bustling and vibrant international playground will play host to all of the annual conferences and exhibitions organized by the Asia Pacific Golf Development Conferences (APGDC).
The events slated to be staged in Pattaya include:
• 2011 Asia Pacific Golf Summit incorporating the Asia Pacific Golf Industry Show
• 2011 Golf Course Superintendents of Asia Summit
• 2011 PGA of Asia Conference
• 2011 South East Asia and India Golf Merchandise Exposition
“This year’s events will all be staged back to back over a one week period stretching from October 31 to November 6,” revealed Mike Sebastian, managing director of APGDC, the owner and producer of the events.
“It makes good business sense for us to cluster all the shows and to stage it as a golf pageant directed at both the industry and consumers alike,” said Sebastian
Why was the city of Pattaya selected as the venue for the 2011 events? “We believe that Pattaya provides an excellent backdrop for the shows as it is a major golfing destination in Thailand and it is a truly attractive venue, given its world renowned resort status,” Sebastian explained. He added, “Logistically speaking, Pattaya has excellent super-highway links from the international airport and it is a lot easier to get to than the city of Bangkok.”
All of the events will be staged at the sprawling world-class Pattaya Exhibition and Convention Centre (PEACH). The host hotel for the events will be the plush five-star Royal Cliff Beach Resort. “Both PEACH and The Royal Cliff Beach Resort were selected to be our partners because of their excellent facilities and services and their global reputation as a first rate conference and exhibition venue,” pointed out Georgina Wong, executive director of APGDC.
The 2011 events are being jointly sponsored and supported by the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau and the Sports Authority of Thailand.
Talks are on-going with the city of Pattaya to stage the “International Pattaya Golf Carnival” in conjunction with all of the APGDC events. The festival will run for the duration of one week and the objective is to attract golf consumers from within the Southeast Asia and India catchment area.
The proposed carnival will feature a week-long golf merchandise exhibition and the following activities:
• Special “stay and play” golf packages that will offer very attractive air fares, hotel rates and golf green fees and incentives to attract golfers.
• A “food fiesta” with a difference that will promote all forms of Thai cuisine – fine dining, great favourites, street food and cooking competitions. It will be produced with a carnival flair along the lines of a “Mardi Gras” extravaganza.
• The staging of the “Inaugural All-Asia Inter-Club Golf Competition”. This will be a competition designed to draw teams from within the ASEAN and India region to play off for the City Of Pattaya Golf Trophy.
As the game of golf is a great showcase for life-style trends, it is also hoped that some life-style side shows will be staged in conjunction with the carnival. This will include:
• A Super-Car motor rally (owners of exotic fast cars).
• A super-bike “Woodstock” ride-off that will draw big bike owners (like Harley Davidson, Ducati etc) to congregate at Pattaya.
• A water gymkhana to attract water sports enthusiasts.
“We are confident that the International Pattaya Golf Festival will materialize and it will most definitely be the best golf activity in the region,” declared Wong.
“We are excited about the enlarged scope for our events and we believe that we will be able to offer something for everyone involved with golf – both the industry and trade and golf consumers alike,” explained Sebastian
The theme for the 2011 conferences will be centred around “Affordable Golf”. “We believe that this theme lends itself to growing the game of golf in the region and at the same time, laying special focus on the need to ensure that operating and maintenance costs of golf courses are kept affordable – we need to change the mindset going forward that golf is no longer a recreational past time for the elite and wealthy, Sebastian said.
“We are now working to put all of the programme details together and we are confident that our events are going to rock for 2011,” concluded Wong.
The following are the event dates:
• 2011 Asia Pacific Golf Summit – October 31-November 2.
• 2011 Golf Course Superintendents of Asia Summit – October 31-November 2.
• 2011 PGA Conference of Asia – November 3-4.
• 2011 South East Asia & India Golf Merchandise Exposition – November 4 – 6
Contact:
