Pattaya (November 6): The inaugural two-day ASEAN Golf Tourism Forum concluded in the beach resort city of Pattaya with a unanimous call from all delegates to stage the event on an annual basis.
More than 60 delegates representing national tourism organisations, travel agents and media from ASEAN countries attended the forum which was staged at the Pattaya Exhibition and Convention Hall (PEACH) from November 4-5.
In his opening address, the Chairman of the committee on ASEAN Tourism and deputy governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand Mr. Sansern Ngaorungsi said, “THE ASEAN COUNTRIES COLLECTIVELY OFFER SOME 800 GOLF COURSES WITH THAILAND, MALAYSIA, INDONESIA AND THE PHILIPPINES HAVING THE LARGEST CONCENTRATION OF GOLF COURSES. ALL THE OTHER MEMBERS, WHICH INCLUDE SINGAPORE, BRUNEI, CAMBODIA, MYANMAR, LAOS AND VIETNAM ALSO, HAVE THEIR FAIR SHARE OF GOLF COURSES.
WHAT WE NEED TO DO IS SERIOUSLY LOOK AT A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT TO PROMOTE AND MARKET OUR GOLFING ATTRACTIONS UNDER THE UNIFIED ASEAN BANNER TO THE WORLD. WE NEED TO TELL THE WORLD WHAT WE HAVE ON OFFER AND TO ATTRACT THE WORLD’S GOLFERS TO CONME TO OUR SHORES.
We have golf courses that rank amongst the best in the world – courses by the sea, courses by the mountains, courses by tropical rain forests and golf can be played virtually throughout the year.”
“Golfing in ASEAN is also unique in that we offer a level of service and hospitality that cannot be matched anywhere in the world.”
According to reliable sources, the global golf tourism market is worth in excess of US$18 billion and is reported to be growing at an exponential rate. The global golf industry is also huge and recent research has revealed that there are approximately 32,000 golf courses around the world which play host to some 56 million golfers. Of this number, 26.7 million are in the United States of America, 5 million in Canada, 5.5 million in Europe, 14 million in Japan and 3.8 million in the United Kingdom.
“The ASEAN countries collectively offer some 800 golf courses with Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines have the largest concentration of golf courses,” Mr. Sansern pointed out. “What we need to do is seriously look at a collaborative effort to promote and market our golfing attractions under the unified ASEAN banner to the world and we need to tell the world what we have on offer and to attract the world’s golfers to come to our shores,” Mr. Sansern added.
He went on to explain, “A major selling point in our favour is the fact that playing golf in the ASEAN countries is perhaps the most economical in terms of price and we have courses that have been designed by some of the greatest names in golf – legends like Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Arnold Palmer, Nick Faldo and Greg Norman.”
Some of the celebrity speakers at the ASEAN Golf Tourism Forum included American tennis legend Jimmy Connors and British golf legend Tony Jacklin.
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