Dumaguete City Mayor Felipe Antonio Remollo on Tuesday vowed to support efforts to promote sports tourism in this capital city of Negros Oriental.
Mayor Remollo made the commitment during a Kapihan sa PIA forum which featured tourism consultant and businessman Charles Lim of Selrahco Management & Consultancy Services, who will spearhead a Sports Tourism Forum on Feb. 2 here in Dumaguete.
According to Mayor Remollo, sports is, indeed, a tourism draw, and that Dumaguete City has proven its worth in previous years to host large-scale sporting events and other competitions.
He cited the recent staging of the University Games (UniGames) late last year in the City, which he said was a success.
It was the second time for Dumaguete to host the UniGames, the first one of which was in 1998 — also under the watch of Remollo as City mayor.
Remollo issued a call for the different sectors to support the Sports Tourism Forum organized by Lim, whom he has known and worked with at the Clark Freeport Zone in Angeles City, Pampanga.
The Mayor noted how Clark is now “enjoying the fruits” of what Lim had initiated about five years ago.
“We are bullish about sports tourism, and this will grow, but we need the support of corporate sponsors to make this succeed,” he added.
According to Remollo, corporate sponsors are needed around the world, as well as media promotions, to bring in the tourists.
But the local chief executive cautioned that “sports should be shielded from politics so that we can send the best Philippine athletes to international competitions”.
Mayor Remollo noted that in many instances, a Philippine delegation to a sporting competition abroad usually has more officials than there are athletes, and that the practice must be stopped.
Among the necessary steps to complement the promotion of sports tourism here, Remollo noted, is the improvement of sports facilities and accommodation.
Sports tourism will put Dumaguete in the map of the sporting world “but first, we have to start building and/or improving the the facilities here”, Remollo added.
The Sports Tourism Forum, meanwhile, will bring together different resource speakers on a variety of topics, such as how to attract corporate sponsors, budgeting, participating in the bidding process, and how to organize sporting events especially during off-season, Lim said.
Lectures and workshops will also include preparing project proposals and marketing strategies, he added.
Lim said he hopes to get the full support, cooperation, and participation of the local government units and business establishments to make use of sports to boost the tourism industry here.
There is a lot of potential here, Lim noted, citing Apo Island which is a renowned dive destination, and which he described as “one of the best dive spots in the world”.
According to Lim, tourism is one of the world’s largest industries, and sports and tourism combined has become the “fastest growing sector” worldwide.
Sports Tourism is any activity where people are attracted to a particular location as a sporting event participant, a spectator, or a participant in a sports-related business meeting, Lim said.
This creates new revenue streams and resources for local event organizers, sports-friendly businesses and the sport in general, he added.
The Sports Tourism Forum was established in 2005 by Selrahco Management headed by Lim, and has been held in many venues in the Philippines previously, such as Cebu, Bacolod, and at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone in Olangapo City.
It aims to help a city or province become “the ultimate sports host venue” with its vision to include being able to evaluate sporting and tourist facilities of each destination, particularly the capacities and standards, stadiums, hotels and transportation; establish the sports appropriate for each destination and its viability; establish LGU and national sports association support; provide inputs on event organizing, marketing and sponsorship; and provide inputs on media exposure on destination marketing.
Registration for the Sports Tourism Forum is at P700 per person with a 20 percent discount for students.
Lim encouraged LGUs, sports associations, schools, government, and tour operators to attend the Sports Tourism Forum next month. (Judy F. Partlow)
