The Asean Senior Golf Championships are conducted annually by the Confederation of Asean Senior Golfers’ Associations (Casga), an organization composed of the senior golfers’ associations of most of the Asean countries. Only Myanmar, Vietnam, Lao PDR and Cambodia have yet to join Casga.
Casga members take turns hosting the championships, which breeds familiarity and fraternity among the participants. The Philippines has historically been the most successful nation in the team events. Eddie Bagtas owns the most individual championship victories, having won the individual plum three years in a row.
The venue for 2017 is the sprawling Eagle Ridge Golf and Country Club in General Trias, Cavite. The club is currently busying itself with preparing the golf courses that are to be used for the event. With the championships being held in the Philippines, look for a very strong showing by the host country. The Philippines has won both the gross and net team events a total of 16 times since the tournament’s inception. No bets against Eddie Bagtas winning a fourth straight individual plum, either.
The championships bring a good deal of tourist traffic to the host country. The Philippines can expect around 320 golfers and nonplaying companions. This will have a significant impact on the local tourism industries affiliated with the tournament. Hotels and restaurants, tourist destinations, shopping and leisure establishments will share the bounty.
It is for this reason that the Philippine Department of Tourism (DOT) has gotten behind the Asean Senior Golf Championships. The DOT has made the growth and promotion of golf tourism one of its key projects. The Philippine Golf Tourism Board was established earlier in the year to spearhead the project and these championships, if anything, validate the DOT’s initiatives in the sector.
Consider if you will that the tournament could pull in from P13 million to P15 million in tourist revenues. Not very much, yes, but this is one three-day event. Thirty or 40 of them would amount to a significant jump in tourist revenue from this sector alone. Golfers are high-value travelers. They’re generally not shy about spending money and prefer middle to upscale accommodations. Golf hasn’t been a priority in the past, but it is a lucrative market. Thailand and Malaysia have done very well making golf one of their tourism priorities.
So it behooves the country to put our best collective foot forward for the Asean Senior Golf Championships. We are hosts to our neighbors. Each of us that has contact or whose work has an impact on the event is now an ambassador for the country. Our hospitality and generosity will be returned with interest.