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ANNOUNCEMENT

Sports Tourism Conference set to accelerate sports tourism in the country

A gathering of powerhouses in both the sports and tourism industry is poised to aggressively promote sports in the country as a tourism magnet and viable source of revenue. A consortium of government agencies led by the Department of Tourism (DOT), Province of Ilocos Norte and Selrahco Management Services is spearheading the first ever National Sports Tourism Conference on October 2 and 3, 2008 at the Fort Ilocandia Resort and Casino in Laoag City.

Sports Tourism is highly regarded as an effective initiative to attract tourists and foreign investors to the Philippines. By now, a number of sports attractions are creating waves in the country, notably water sports (surfing, wakeboarding, and scuba diving), mountaineering, and spelunking. It has become one of the primary plans within the mandate of the DOT, which is to encourage and promote sports not only as a national pastime and part of a healthy lifestyle but as a tourism destination as well.

Progressive and scenic Ilocos Norte will be the arena of the event and the Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte is pulling all stops to support the event. Governor Michael Keon, one of the key brains of the historic conference and a sports luminary, is making sure all sporting and tourism roads lead to the Ilocandia.

Key personalities in both the sporting and tourism world will be on hand to exchange and discuss ideas to further enhance and develop sports tourism in the country.

Sports tourism includes all national, regional and cultural sporting events that are considered important in boosting tourism and investments for the country. Special focus will be on various sports that are deemed tourism magnets. This includes Scuba diving, Sailing, Boating, Golf and Motorsports.

The organizers has also tapped some of the well-known sports luminaries, tourism officials, events planning gurus, marketing experts, and various corporate sponsors to impart their knowledge in marketing, events planning, tourism promotion, and best practices. This will help stakeholders to formulate programs designed to attract investors for sports tourism.

The event will feature an exciting ensemble of activities meant to launch the massive sports tourism program of the government and attract investors to this new and thrilling industry.

Ilocos Norte Governor Michael Keon is ecstatic about the conference since he says this will elevate sports to a new level of importance.

"Before, sports in the country is an internal affair, but with the holding of this event, gathering of major players in sports, tourism and government, I am sure we will put ourselves in the global map of sports," he proclaimed.

The conference will have stimulating themes and topics that evolve around the development and advancement of sports tourism such as Sports Tourism Products and the Inter-relationships between Sports and Tourism, The Role of Corporate Sponsorships in Sports Tourism Development, Collaboration of Government Agencies responsible for Sports and Tourism (DOT, PSC, LGUs), Opportunities for Tour Operators, Maximizing Media Impact of Events, Staging of Sports as a Destination Product, Private Sponsorship of Sports Tourism events: Value and benefit to the Organizer and Sponsor, How Scuba Diving, Sailing, Boating and Golf enhance the travel experience and benefit local communities, Event and Sponsorship Marketing Strategies for the successful staging of sports tourism events, and Sports Tourism Event Staging, Planning and Management.