Sports tourism confab slated this month

Aimed at intensifying public awareness on sports tourism here in the region, an upcoming conference that will be held at the Waterfront Hotel and Casino will host series of seminars that will be attended by stakeholders of the tourism industry such as tour operators, resort and hotel operators, tourism councils as well as sports organizations and event organizers.

Charles T. Lim, conference director of the Sports Tourism Conference, said that now is about time to advocate sports tourism as the time calls for more initiative and new products from the tourism industry to continue its growth as one of the country’s strongest economic driver.

“Sports tourism has a huge potential to increase the tourism arrivals of a certain area because it can draw in huge crowd composed of big groups of delegates, supporters and spectators,” said Lim.

He said that their conference this coming February 17 will be a venue to widen the perspective of tourism and sports stakeholders about the prospects of sports tourism to the community and the local economy.

It will also appeal to local corporate sponsors and local government units to support financially events that will encourage the growth of sports tourism.

Lim said that the conference will also teach participants on the proper marketing tools of looking for sponsorships for their events and tournaments as they have speakers from the corporate world so that organizers can match the criteria that are required by sponsors.

The conference also aims to single out a particular body or entity that will be responsible in advocating and ensuring the growth of sports tourism as well as create a calendar of sporting events which will be helpful in its marketing initiatives.

He said that since October 2008, they have already laid out the preparation of the conference and they are expecting attendees from the region which will include tour operators, resort and hotel operators, sports and tourism councils, sports clubs and organizations as well as event organizers.

Lim, who is the brainchild in advocating sports tourism, has since organized the conference since 2004 which has also been held in different areas such as Bacolod, Subic, Palawan, Ilocos Norte and Cagayan de Oro.

He said that one of the major factors that contain the growth of sports tourism in the region is the lack of adequate facilities to hold sports-related events such as tournaments and sports festivities.

The lack of experts, officials and consultants in a particular sporting event also hinders its potential growth as well as the lack of focus on sports projects by the public sector and the lack of enthusiasm in holding such sporting events by some event organizer due to lack of financial and marketing support.

“Great facilities either natural or man-made will deeply encourage destinations to organize their own sporting events that can attract sports tourists from all over the world. So this particular conference will deeply encourage sports clubs and organizes and even hotels to organize their own sporting events utilizing their own facilities,” said Lim.

Sports tourism is defined as attracting people who travel with the objective of either indulging or participating in any sports –related activity or witnessing a sports festivity or visiting a sports attraction and it is now being considered as another product that Cebu can possibly capitalize in order to further increase its influx of foreign tourists.