Asia Pacific’s largest golf tourism event has got under way in Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, with the official launch of an Indonesia chapter for global golf tourism organisation IAGTO.
The 510 delegates attending the 4th annual IAGTO Asia Golf Tourism Convention (AGTC), including more than 200 tour operator buyers and media from around the world, were welcomed at the opening ceremony at the Jakarta Convention Centre by IAGTO Chief Executive Peter Walton, who announced the inauguration of the new chapter and introduced Jimmy Masrin, founder of the Indonesian Masters – which culminated in a third consecutive win for Lee Westwood last Sunday – as its chairman.
Masrin said: “We want to use the momentum of the Asia Golf Tourism Convention in order to develop golf tourism for the whole of Indonesia as has been successfully done for Jakarta. Jakarta is a hidden jewel. We have over 50 golf courses well within an hour of the city, of which 21 have been identified by IAGTO as ‘export-ready’ (tourist friendly). But that is just the beginning; there are wonderful golf destinations to discover throughout the country, including Bandung, Yogyakarta, Surabaya, Bantam, Bintan Island and Bali, and there are so many things you can do. Golf is just one of them.”
Walton added: “The Asia Golf Tourism Convention follows three years of implementing a golf tourism strategy for Jakarta and by establishing an Indonesian chapter now we can begin a similar project for the whole of the country. In the established golf destinations, for example Thailand, golf represents more than 3% of tourism revenue while in Indonesia it is currently around 1.3% – providing great scope for growth.
“There is the potential in Indonesia to double golf tourism revenue within five years. IAGTO estimates the current value golf tourism to be worth approximately $120 million.”
Murdaya Po, President of the Indonesia Golf Association, welcomed the setting up of the Indonesia IAGTO chapter as well as the fact that Jakarta is hosting the AGTC event and said: “This is very, very important for Indonesia. I want to make sure Indonesia becomes a golf tourism destination. I think we can increase golf tourism to Indonesia by five times in the next three to five years. It’s cheaper to play golf here and you can play golf all year.”
Hari Wibowo, Director of Marketing for the Jakarta City Government Tourism and Culture Office, lauded the strength of participation by Indonesian companies at AGTC, with 38 attending the event, as well as both the quantity and quality of buyers. He believed it could help increase the number of visitors coming to play golf in Indonesia’s capital by up to 30% over the next year as a result of the event, and he said the establishment of the IAGTO Indonesia chapter would help play a major role, particularly under the leadership of Jimmy Masrin. “It will be good to be part of the IAGTO family and it is great to have this event in our city,” he added.
Indonesia’s golf industry has also welcomed the establishment of the IAGTO Indonesia chapter.
Bruce Jellard, Executive Director of Bali National Golf Club, said: “I think it will greatly assist us in our promotion of Indonesia as a golf destination. Having the IAGTO label will give us credence in the marketplace and will also give us access to all the people involved in IAGTO on a daily basis.”
Emeralda Golf Club President Director Wahyu Harun echoed that view and commented: “This is very important for us. If we don’t have IAGTO Indonesia, people won’t know about our golf. Now we have a channel to promote the destination and let everyone know about golf in Indonesia – how many golf courses we have, the great service we offer and the great value for money golf is in Indonesia.”
Christine Wiradinata, Secretary General of the Indonesia Golf Association and Executive Director of Damai Indah Golf, in Jakarta, said the Jakarta government had been working to help grow golf tourism to the city for the last three or four years but not many international visitors yet knew about Jakarta or Indonesia as a golf destination. “We have just started the IAGTO Indonesia chapter and I believe golf tourism will grow faster as a result of that and following AGTC. We are all competitors but we work closely together to promote golf tourism because tourists will play a different golf course every day, even if they stay in the same hotel for three or four days,” she said. “We need to collaborate with one another.”
Both AGTC 2015 and the creation of IAGTO’s Indonesia chapter are set to help boost golf tourism to other areas of the country, too.
Ira Souhoka, Sales Manager for Taman Dayu Golf Club & Resort, a Jack Nicklaus signature course near Surabaya in East Java, said: “This is very exciting for us. It will be very useful to have the IAGTO Indonesia chapter to help introduce Taman Dayu to all the IAGTO members. It is really an unknown part of Indonesia.”
And Haris Hudiyanto, Club Manager at Borobudur International Golf & Country Club, close to the UNESCO-listed temple complex near Yogyakarta, said: “I am hoping international golfers will get to know our area for the golf as much as for the history and culture. We have two other courses around Yogyakarta. I hope that being part of IAGTO will help us to promote golf tourism to Central Java to international golfers. Tour operators are very excited about our golf course and our packages.”
AGTC 2015 was officially opened by Purba Hutapea, Executive Director of the Jakarta Tourism and Culture Office, and runs from 27 to 29 April. It brings together golf tour operators from 35 countries around the world with golf courses, golf resorts, hotels and other tourism suppliers from golf destinations throughout the Asia Pacific region. The Bogor Highlands, a group of courses in the Jakarta region, chose to use the AGTC forum to announce their new brand – Bogor Heavenly Golf.
The Asia Golf Tourism Convention climaxes with a glittering gala dinner sponsored by Etihad Airways taking place in the prestigious ballroom of Jakarta’s luxury Hotel Mulia on Wednesday 29 April, at which a tourist office and a handful of golf clubs and resorts throughout the Asia Pacific region will be honoured in the 2nd IAGTO Excellence Awards.
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INFORMATION FOR THE EDITOR
Further information on the AGTC and IAGTO can be found at www.iagto.com/AGTC
Further information on Enjoy Jakarta Golf can be found at www.enjoyjakartagolf.com
About IAGTO
Established in 1997, IAGTO is the global trade organisation of the golf tourism industry, and has over 2370 members in 100 countries including 580 golf tour operator members in 62 countries, which control more than 85% of golf holiday packages sold worldwide and which collectively have annual sales of over US$2 billion. IAGTO runs annual Asia and North America Golf Tourism Conventions, along with regular Destination Conventions. IAGTO established the International Golf Travel Market, now owned and operated by Reed Travel Exhibitions, in 1997 and the International Golf Travel Writers Association in 2000. IAGTO also runs the prestigious annual IAGTO Awards and the IAGTO Excellence Awards.
