A perfect swing for Malaysian tourism.

Date: 3 December 2012

A perfect swing for Malaysian tourism.

KUALA LUMPUR: Hosting Asia's first Kids Golf World Championship (KGWC) 2012 should augur well for the future of Malaysian golf tourism. KGWC event director Sukumaran Balakrishnan said Malaysia has a bright future ahead as it has some of the finest courses in Asia.

"Asia and in particular Malaysian golf destinations are competing for the affluent, high-value tourists who generate significantly above-average per capita revenues for the destinations they frequent," he said in an email interview.

Global golf tourism has been valued at US$20 billion (RM60 billion) with over 50 million golf tourists travelling around the world to play on some of the estimated 32,000 courses worldwide, he noted.

KGWC is part of the US Kids Golf Foundation, one of the largest golf foundations in the US hosting a whole calendar of events throughout the year. "All of these tournaments are held in the US except one which is held in Europe and this will be the first time they are holding KGWC in Asia," said Sukumaran.

He said that US KGWC has been traditionally played at Pinehurst Golf Club and over 18,000 kids have tried to qualify for the 1,200 spots. "I don't think there is a larger junior golf tournament in the world," Sukumaran said, adding that there is a rising number of participants from Asia and last year 40 per cent of them were Asians.

"This is a very large tournament. We have 373 junior golfers registered, aged five to 18 to participate in 18 different categories. The tournament will be played at Saujana Golf & Resort Club and Glenmarie Golf and Resort Club," he said.

Sukumaran pointed out that Malaysia is one of the best golfing destinations in the world with some fantastic golf courses, hotels, attractions and hospitality.  "We were able to offer all participants and their family and friends two fantastic golf courses and some great value accommodation during their visit," he said.

Sukumaran said the event helps boost Malaysia's image enormously and will position the country as one of the world's best travel destinations. "For example, as part of the Economic Transformation Programme, MyCEB (Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau) is making sure that Malaysia is promoted as the global centre stage for international events," he said.

Malaysia won the bid to host KGWC from countries such as Japan, China and South Korea. "We succeeded because of the support of RSH (the Malaysian franchise holder) and MyCEB who are extremely keen to help develop the game of the golf in the region," Sukumaran said.

By Roziana Hamsawi

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