Golf doing wonders for Fiji, says Koya
The Fiji International and Tourism Fiji brands combined, provided a gross media value of FJ$33.4million in 2017 and a cumulative value of over FJ$72 million with a broadcast reach of 46 countries over the past four years.
In his opening address at the 2018 Fiji International Presented By Fiji Airways dinner at the InterContinental Fiji Golf Resort and Spa last night, Minister for Industry, Trade, Tourism, Lands and Mineral Resources Faiyaz Siddiq Koya said Fiji’s brand visibility increased by 34 per cent as broadcast hours increased from 1,114 in 2016 to 1,361 hours in 2017.
“The total combined hours of broadcast over the four years to date of the tournament is 3,531 hours, (nearly 900 hours per year, which is equivalent to 38 consecutive days of broadcast), he said.
“In addition, the new tri-sanctioning relationship between PGA - Australasia, the European Tour and the Asian Tour, has also raised the profile of the Fiji International.” “The European Tour is one of the prestigious and strongest professional golf tours in the world and reaches 450 million homes globally.
“Being part of the Asia Tour, boosts the Fiji International’s Official World Ranking status, thus ensuring we attract more highranking players to the tournament.” “Through these platforms, Fiji has extended its reach to emerging visitor markets in China and India, whilst strengthening our visibility in traditional markets of Australia and New Zealand.”
Koya said over the past four years, more than 500 professional golfers from 29 different countries have participated from key tourism markets.
“In 2017 alone, the Fiji International brought in number one ranked players from 7 different countries, such as Bangladesh, Brazil, Fiji, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and Zimbabwe.
“Over the years, the field has included golfing best, such as, Vijay Singh, Nick Price, Ernie Els, Angel Cabrera and Mike Weir, who collectively have won 13 major titles and 4 Masters Green Jackets. “They have all elevated the tournament to new heights each year.” He said the Fijian Government was pleased to partner with PGA to achieve the vision of shaping Fiji into a world-class golfing destination.
“The success and growth of the Fiji International over the past 4-years has proven, that the Government’s decision was absolutely correct.”
“The Fiji International has achieved far more than what we had expected.”
“The tournament has been hosted at an international standard, ensuring all requirements of the international tours that sanction this event were satisfactorily met.” “I must commend the Fiji International, for its community initiatives raising awareness on our local culture, giving back to our local communities, especially children and the less privileged.”
For the past few years, the Fiji International has been running golf clinics and development programmes, such as, the Westpac Schools Golf Programme in schools like Penang Primary School, Tagore Memorial School, Sigatoka Special School and Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Primary School.