Philippine Golf Tourism Council roundtable on state of industry

The Philippine Golf Tourism Council met for a roundtable on the state of the industry last December 22 at Club Intramuros in the Walled City. It was the first meeting with all the stakeholders in attendance. Previous meetings were one-on-one affairs with members of the council with the various stakeholders.

Tourism Assistant Secretary Frederick M. Alegre first addressed the council. Then representatives of the Golf Managers League and the tour operators took the podium to air their concerns. Both parties discussed the same concerns; the costs related to keeping golf tourism in the Philippines competitive with the rest of our Asian neighbors.

The golf managers’ concerns were that the cost of the local hotel rooms are much higher than other markets, while the tour operators’ concerns stemmed from the tourist rates the golf clubs were charging to date were too high. The operators cited the need to have tourists accompanied by a member as another hindrance to the industry’s development.

Connie Mamaril of Regent Travel, speaking for the tour operators, assured the golf managers that they would be able to negotiate preferential rates with the hotels for inbound golf tourists and that the country would be competitive as long as the golf clubs would charge reasonable rates.

For their part, the golf managers committed to reducing the rates for inbound golf tourists to the levels of those of club guests accompanied by a member and were willing to waive the need to have tourists accompanied by members. This compromise should give the tour operators a suitable margin with which to work and should make the Philippines a viable destination for the international market.

Montano then took the podium to encourage the parties to keep working together for the betterment and growth of the industry. He pledged his and the TPB’s full support for the council, the stakeholders and their efforts to grow the industry and put the Philippines on the map for golf tourists worldwide.

This day also marked the return of night golf at Club Intramuros, which had been shelved by the previous administration.

After the discussions and some refreshments, members of the council took to the golf course to survey the golf course. Spirits were high after the round and at a simple dinner at one of the club’s function rooms, Montano reiterated his support for the council’s efforts and pledged to use all the powers of his office to enable the industry to succeed.

As the mood of the industry starts to shift to the positive, all involved these are still early days for the industry and that there is still much to be done. But with the stakeholders working together with the support of the Department of Tourism and the TPB chances are good that the industry will prosper and grow.

Source: BusinessMirror