Sri Lanka eyes top place in SA for golf tourism with Srilankan Golf Classic
With SriLankan Airlines Golf Classic, Sri Lanka is planning to be the most preferred tourist destination in South Asia, a top airline official said.
“Many countries in the Far East and South Asia have identified the potential in sports tourism- golf in particular, as a means to attract high-end tourists and have made vast investments to develop supporting facilities. Although Sri Lanka is still in its infancy as a golfing destination, events such as SriLankan Golf Classic will help market and position the country in the international golf community,” SriLankan Airlines Chairman Nishantha Wickramasinghe said.
Golf Classic presents three days of exciting golf for international and local players, who stand to bag grand prizes, including air tickets to destinations around the world. Winners will be determined through points allocated over two rounds in categories Gents’ and Ladies’ Gross and Nett Stableford Scores, Junior Division, Nearest to the Pin, Longest Drive, Hole in One and Overall Winner of the Tournament.
The tournament will start at the Royal Colombo Golf Club (RCGC) with a practice session and will conclude on Friday, October 19, followed by an awards ceremony and celebration.
Many Asian countries have found profitable niches beyond the sun, sea and sand in sports tourism, a phenomenon that rakes in US$ 600 billion every year globally.
“SriLankan Golf Classic has been one of our most successful events in the past, attended by many international golfers and we are excited to relaunch it.
We will continue to develop it further in the coming years attracting more numbers, with the aim to contribute to the national goal of increasing high-end tourism,” added SriLankan Airlines CEO Kapila Chandrasena.
Around 130 golfers are participating from the airline’s network of countries in Europe, the Middle East, the Indian Subcontinent and the Far East.