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Thailand’s award-winning golf destination of Pattaya is playing host to the largest golf tourism convention staged in the Asia-Pacific region.

The resort’s Royal Cliff Hotel and PEACH Convention Centre saw the 2nd Asia Golf Tourism Convention being staged by IAGTO (International Association of Golf Tour Operators) until 2 May officially opened today with hundreds of delegates attending from all over the world.The opening was also attended by top regional and national officials from Thailand’s tourism, convention and golf sectors.

Welcoming delegates, IAGTO’s President, Peter Walton, said: “It gives me enormous pleasure not only to welcome you to the 2nd Asia Golf Tourism Convention but also to Thailand, the most important golf destination in Asia, and to the undisputed golfing capital of the continent.”

“In just two years, AGTC has quickly become the biggest and most important golf tourism event in Asia and without doubt, this is the biggest event of its type to have taken place in Thailand. There are 162 golf resorts, golf courses, hotels, inbound operators and tourist boards here to do business with the buyers. They are from as far afield as Mongolia and Mauritius and there are people here from China, Malaysia, Japan, Singapore, Cambodia, Vietnam, India – in fact every single golf destination in the Asia-Pacific region.”

Walton added: “Our Thailand division, which we call IAGTO Thailand, has grown rapidly over the last 18 months and we now have 85 member companies that makes it the biggest and most representative trade organisation for golf tourism in Thailand; 63 of those companies from Thailand are here to do business with the buyers.

Over the last 12 months since the first AGTC, which was held in Malaysia,IAGTO had seen very strong growth in Asia, Walton noted. “The number of IAGTO tour operators selling Asia has grown by 25% and the number of IAGTO members in Asia has grown to 420; that’s 20% of IAGTO’s 2,100 members and has grown from 15% last year,” he said.

“We did the biggest-ever golf tourism survey earlier this year and we found out our member golf tour operators carried more than 1.6 million golfers on golf holidays last year and total combined sales were over 2 billion US dollars, or 60,000 million Thai baht. That represents over 85% of all golf holidays sold worldwide. Not all of our 500 tour operators sell Asia, but 60% do. That’s 300 tour operators. IAGTO operators said that last year Thailand was the 5th fastest-growing destination for them.”

Walton said staging this year’s AGTC was only possible with the help of the host city and sponsors, and he thanked Pattaya City, Chonburi Province, TAT (Tourism Authority of Thailand), the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau, the East Coast Golf Alliance Management Association and the Royal Cliff Hotels Group.

The delegates were also addressed by VIPs from the host destination and sponsors.

Vitaya Khunplome, Chief Executive, Chonburi Administration Organisation: “I would like to welcome all of you to the Asia Golf Tourism Convention 2013 here in Pattaya. Chonburi Province is very delighted to host all of you from all over the world to join this very important convention to discuss the business of golf tourism.” Khun Vitaya highlighted Chonburi Province’s excellent infrastructure, with Pattaya just one and a half hours from Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, making it convenient for guests arriving from worldwide destinations. “We have tourist attractions, both authentic and traditional, that you can visit all year round. So I can say that Pattaya City and Chonburi Province is one of the most diverse destinations in Thailand and Asia.”

Ronakit Ekasingh, Deputy Mayor, Pattaya City: “On behalf of the Mayor of Pattaya City, I have the great honour to be here and welcome you to Pattaya, the golf destination of Asia and Australasia. As all of you know, Pattaya is a top tourism and world-class destination. This event can promote and publicise its position in the golf industry and stimulate tourism to Pattaya.”

Juthaporn Rerngronasa, Deputy Governor, Tourism Authority of Thailand: “With TAT, the strategy is that we would like to focus more on the leisure and niche markets, and golf is one of the four niche markets that TAT thinks that it is a very potential for our country.

“The increasing demand and popularity of golf in Thailand among the international golfers and golf tour operators has caught the attention of TAT and we have placed much emphasis on this market. As golfers do not travel alone, it is a very important market for us. Last year, Thailand marked more than 20 million tourist arrivals and of this, 1.5 million are golfers. We provide more than 200 golf courses around our country and I truly hope AGTC 2013 will create a good image for Thailand as a destination and will also be a perfect business platform for tour operators and golf-related businesses in Thailand and Asia.”

Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya, Director, Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau: “TCEB is greatly honoured to be a partner in supporting this event. Following the fantastic success of last year’s event in Kuala Lumpur, we are delighted that IAGTO has chosen Thailand to host this 2nd AGTC in the City of Pattaya. And I think it is fair to expect that AGTC 2013 is going to accomplish even more than it did last year. We are strongly committed to support AGTCV because events like this not only contribute directly to Thai tourism sectors but more broadly through word of mouth recommendations on our readiness to become the world MICE destination. Pattaya has been designed as a MICE city and you will see for yourselves in the coming two days the readiness of Pattaya City to host other major international conventions.”

Christoph Voegeli, General Manager, Royal Cliff Hotels Group: “It is a great pleasure to have you all here. Royal Cliff Hotels Group always looked forward to welcoming golfers from all over the world. It is our pleasure and our duty to enhance the experience of golf travellers in the hotel as well as on the golf courses and we have created and designed all of our facilities to support that. We have easy access to all the world-class golf courses in the area.”

Kullatorn Messomont, President, East Coast Golf Courses Management Association: “Welcome to our golfing paradise. Pattaya as a golf destination won probably one of the biggest awards for golf destinations in 2012. The reason we won is because we have great championship golf facilities, good value for money and other professional service looking after the golf courses as well as the friendliness, smile and service of our caddies. We also have great culture. We have 20 golf courses altogether with 400 holes and a great variety of designers. We have very high repeat bookings – 80% plus – and plenty of tee times available all year round.”