Global body pleased with Asian convention
THE 7th Asia Golf Tourism Convention (AGTC) was held in Manila, the Philippines and left International Association of Golf Tour Operators (IAGTO) chief executive Peter Walton to declare it “a huge success”.
“The event organised by global golf tourism industry body attracted 560 delegates, including 214 golf tour operators from 33 countries – of whom a record-breaking 176 participated in golf familiarisation tours across the country,” added Walton.
Walton lauded the destination for hosting both the AGTC and the familiarisation tours, which included the Tagaytay Highlands region as well as Metro Manila and said he was confident the event would help it reap rewards.
“Just as importantly, the event and inspection visits acted as an invaluable training and educational opportunity for the country’s golf courses in terms of what the international golf traveller expects and demands from golf vacation destinations.”
“The Philippines provided an incredible environment for our tour operator members to conduct business over the past week, and as a result of the meetings and familiarisation tours, we can expect to see immediate and sustainable growth to the destination in the order of 50% over the coming two seasons,” said Walton.
The Philippines Tourism Promotions Board chief operating officer Cesar Montano said: “We are planning a five-year strategy for sports tourism in which golf travel will be an extremely important pillar.
“Staging the AGTC in the Philippines this year is a landmark moment that will accelerate the development and implementation of this strategy and most importantly, lead to rapid and significant increases in golf visitor arrivals much sooner than would otherwise be possible.”