| James Kon |
FURTHER boosting Brunei’s efforts to aggressively position itself as a getaway for golfers, the country is currently hosting Korean Pro-Golfing Association (PGA) rookie golf championship which kick started yesterday.
This is for the first time the Korean PGA tournament is held in the Sultanate.
Of late, more and more visitors come to play golf in Brunei Darussalam.
Such increase in visitors, especially from South Korea, is significant in terms of sports tourism development in the country.
The Korean PGA event, where 16 top rookie golfers from Korea are currently battling it out to be crowned the best to lift the championship trophy will conclude on January 10.
Millions of Koreans will get to see the magnificent golf course of Empire Hotel & Country Club as well as the many popular tourism destinations in the country on a number of popular Korean golfing TV channels when they air the tournament next month, boosting Brunei’s image as an upcoming golfing destination.
Organised by local travel agency Sinar Tour Sdn Bhd, the championship’s main partners include Brunei Tourism and The Empire Hotel & Country Club that have successfully pulled the tournament to be hosted in Brunei.
“This is the 12th year that the championship is being held. Welcome Savings Bank in Seoul, South Korea is its main sponsor and its officials will be arriving this weekend to join the golfers during the closing ceremony,” James Park, President of Sinar Tour, told the Sunday Bulletin.
On the success of getting the championship to be hosted in Brunei, he said, “We had been working on this project for almost ten months,” adding that “Brunei Darussalam where we have a magnificent golf course at The Empire Hotel & Country Club is an ideal place to host the championship.”
On Brunei’s scope for gaining exposure to Korean market, James said, “JTBC (Joongang Television Broadcasting Cooperation) is one of the famous golf channels in Korea and they will be filming for five days in Brunei as part of the championship. Fifteen episodes will be produced and they will be aired every week starting February this year. The channel will replay the episodes again in September, further boosting Brunei’s image as an attractive tourism destination in the Korean market. In total, 30-45 episodes will be aired.”
He cited that in previous years, the championship was hosted in Hainan, China twice and after the championship, the golf course became a popular destination for Korean golf enthusiasts.
With the success of this year’s championship, he hopes that the Korean PGA rookie golf championship will continue to be held in Brunei in coming years.
James thanked The Empire Hotel & Country Club for giving “immense support” to Sinar Tour and the tournament.
To further promote Brunei as a favourite destination for Korean tourists, he revealed that the Korean Modern Art Fair will be held from January 15-18 at The Empire Hotel & Country Club while in March this year, 300 personnel from a Korean insurance company will be visiting Brunei to attend its annual event.
This is the first time that a Korean company is organising its annual event in Brunei, he added.
“We are also looking at getting a Korean drama company to do part of its filming in Brunei. This will give Brunei a huge exposure not only in Korea but also among those who love K-drama around the world.”
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