SriLankan draws upmarket holidaymakers
Srilankan Airlines is spending US$100,000 to sponsor the country’s first ever three-day PGA golf tournament aimed at attracting more tourists.
Over 60 senior professional golfers worldwide will fly into Sri Lanka to participate in the Srilankan Airlines Asia Pacific Senior Golf Masters Championship 2012 this month, Srilankan Airlines Chairman Nishantha Wickremesinghe said during the media briefing in Colombo
With plans underway to attract upmarket visitors to the country, the national carrier aims at hosting these events in a bid to promote the destination at the same time by ensuring participants would visit again.
The airline promotes tourism through the conduct of these sporting events including rugby and surfing, Mr. Wickremesinghe said adding that “this brings the world close to Sri Lanka.”
Srilankan Airlines Chief Marketing Officer G.T. Jayaseelan said the airline would be recommencing the SriLankan Golf Classic in August as part of efforts to increase upmarket tourists to visit the country.
The Srilankan Airlines Golf Classic was suspended three years ago and will recommence this year and is expected to become an annual event in the future, he said.
The Masters Championship this month will bring down around 200 visitors to the country, Mr. Jayaseelan said.
International Golf Solutions CEO Mike Varney commended Sri Lanka’s golf courses as “fantastic”.
Sri Lanka will play host to this event at the Kandy and Nuwara Eliya golf courses while a third is coming up in Trincomalee.
He pointed out that the layout of the Victoria Golf course “is outstanding” and noted that their professionals would “not only enjoy the scenery but also the ground.”
The Victoria course is among the best in the Indian sub-continent with a fairly challenging 18-hole turf.
The programme begins with a practice day on February 15, followed by a Pro Am on February 16 to give Sri Lanka’s amateur golfers a chance to play with the Asia Pacific Tour Professionals. It is followed by two days of stroke play for the Srilankan Airlines Asia Pacific Senior Golf Masters Championship Trophy.
Former US PGA Tour card holder Mike Harwood and Thailand’s Jamnian Chitrasong who won the recent Asia Pacific Champion tour are billed to be the big drawcards at the event.