The Fil-Am golf tournament and sports tourism

BAGUIO CITY—For most visitors, this city gets a failing grade for the horrendous traffic downtown. But it still gets high marks for its landmarks, food, nightlife and golf under a cool climate this time of the year.

The Fil-Am Invitational Golf Tournament, on its 69th edition in the adjoining courses of the Baguio Country Club and the John Hay Golf Club, remains the best calling card ever for this mountaintop resort.

Started by a handful of golfers in 1949 to celebrate Filipino-American amity, the event has become the largest and longest-running amateur golf  tournament in the world.

Income figures are not forthcoming from travel and tourism bureaucrats and from organizers of the other hugely successful sports tourism draws this year—the Century Tuna Ironman Philippines in Subic, Zambales, and  the first Ironman 70.3 Asia-Pacific championship in Mactan, Cebu.

But you ain’t seen nothing yet in terms of foreign draws and currencies from sports tourism if you base its benefit from the Fil-Am that concludes on Saturday.

According to the Fil-Am’s organizers, the 1,355 local and overseas golfers the event attracted are expected to pump more than P210 million to the city’s coffers.

While benefiting greatly from the Fil-Am, Baguio also gets added financial windfall during the holiday season, says BGC general manager Anthony De Leon, head of the city’s hotel and restaurant association.

De Leon said the BGC and Camp John Hay combine easily attracts P250 million in tourism income from Dec. 23 to Jan. 1.

While the national tourism office quibbles with its promotion spending, quiet movements in the countryside, including Baguio, are stirring to highlight local sights and sounds to athletes, foreign or domestic

After all,  latest figures from the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) indicate that sports tourism is a $600-billion market that is expected to expand by an average of 5.3 percent annually.

Sports tourism worldwide is projected to grow 6.1 percent up to 2020, and by 4 percent from 2020 to 2030.

The centennial of the Pangasinan provincial capitol in Lingayen will be celebrated on Saturday, Dec. 15.

The festivities start at 5 p.m. and will be led by Gov. Amado Espino III to focus on the heritage building built under the term of Gov. Daniel Maramba.