January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
Golf coup: is it a good use of $1.5 million?
But was it the best investment of $1.5m tourism cash? What other events would you like to see here? How else could Government use its money to bring in tourists and to improve sports? Or is the PGA an all-round home run for the Government?
Nick Jones: Basically we're paying for a two-day ad. $1.5 million would get you the front end of a NASCAR car for a season - that's 36 races televised every weekend on TNT and NBC.
What about a pink car with a blue trim like the island's buses and the 1-800 Bermuda number on the front. That would be real exposure.
George Holdipp: I believe the PGA Grand Slam venture is a novel idea, well worth a try, it could attract great exposure for the island. However, what I would also like to see is the introduction of a soccer tournament which would bring college teams and their alumni to the island, this competition could act as a way of bringing back those young college students from schools on the east coast of the United States that we lost in the 1980s - these same people who came back for their honeymoons and then returned for family vacations!
It would also provide some much-needed competition for local footballers!
Cal Blankendal: The term Sports Tourism has not yet been clearly defined.
n Are we aiming to attract global sporting events to market Bermuda (brand) as a excellent Tourist destination?
n Are we aiming to attract Global Sporting events which will bring thousands of visitors to Bermuda?
n Are we aiming to bring marketable sporting teams or give exposure to Bermuda's domestic sporting organizations with the emphasis of their supporters travelling with them.
Regarding the PGA Grand Slam, hosting this event will give more exposure to Bermuda as a excellent golf destination. Spending $1.5 million can only be calculated by the expected number of worldwide viewers and then analysing how many additional visitors have arrived due to this event. I suggest that for every dollar we spend on hosting these events, that the government spends the same amount on improving our domestic sporting facilities and programmes.
That would see everyone benefit at the end of the day. If we receive the rights to host this event then I do look forward to having top football teams visit our shores, with the government paying their appearance fees. Imagine Manchester United, Ajax, AC Milan and Barcelona playing in Bermuda.
This four team tournament would attract more viewers if televised to the World. I hope to see it happen during my lifetime!
If we are aiming to broadcast Bermuda to the World, then I say give the same idea a new jacket. Did we ever try to get TV coverage to show the matches outside of Bermuda? If we are trying to reach European tourist, then football is the best tool. I do not predict that it will solve all of the empty beds issues but which event will bring tourist here outside of Football, Rugby or Cricket? I say bring back the Bermuda International Triathlon
Roderick Spencer: "Football, Rugby and Cricket" aren't the sports that can bring in visitors. There is actually A LOT of interest from North America AND Europe to have Basketball tournaments here in Bermuda ranging from college off season tournaments, Senior tournament and so on.
Some of these talks have mentioned numbers in the area of several hundred guests here for these games.
The problem is that there is no gym in the island that I could put on a function like this and have seating capacity to accommodate the function. If we had $1.5M we could upgrade one or two gyms seating arrangements and have their use for several years of "Pop By" advertising.
GH: This might sound a bit far out but why not put up some serious finance for a round the island - jet ski race, you could name it the Bermuda Triangle Invitational, then invite all of the big names of the sport to participate, meaningful prize money could be put up and then invite the U.S. networks to cover it, they could get some great footage of all the island has to offer - that would sell the country and if successful make it an annual event!
Cal B: Nothing is too far out! Ideas like yours just have to be researched and then we can state if it is feasible. We are an island, so any water-based events should be attractive. It all comes down to what we are looking for, exposure, booked hotel beds or activity for our national/club teams.
James W: Golf is the kind of sport that attracts tourists. People can watch the PGA Grand Slam, they can see Tiger putting, with the turquoise ocean in the background and they can think -'I'd like to play there'.
There's years worth of marketing for the Mid Ocean and Bermuda's golf hotels in those pictures.
You can't watch a basketball tournament and think I'd like to go play basketball there, it just wouldn't have the same effect.
I love George's idea about pumping some cash into the round-the-island race - that's something that could work and attract a worldwide buzz to an already excellent (though clearly diminishing) national event.
Another 'out of the box' idea but see what you think. How about taking that $1.5 million and putting it up as prize money for a winner takes all amateur golf tournament. It wouldn't be the best golfers in the world, it wouldn't even have to be the best amateurs but it would be the one tournament worldwide where an average Joe golfer had the chance to win a fortune -provided, of course, he paid his way over here, booked into one of our hotels and passed on the buzz about Bermuda to his golf buddies.
GH: Great Idea James, Bermuda would not be able to accommodate all of the golfers who would come to the island in an attempt to win that tournament!
Peter Dunne: James, This is where we cross the line between what is the role of the Department of Tourism and what is sport. The DoT is there to promote Bermuda to those outside of our shores, not develop local sports. They want to get more people to come to the island. For the golf event the key is the TV coverage where potential visitors would hopefully see Tiger acing #7 at MOC. Then they get all excited about doing the same thing and next thing you know the airlines are packed! The DoT and their advisors are looking at the demographics of the spectators and making the connection to our tourism product. So the first thing to recognize is that if the particular sport does not have the spectator demographics the Tourism seeks then it isn't a promotional opportunity. That doesn't mean that it isn't interesting to locals but Tourism's job isn't to keep me entertained.
Nick is right about the NASCAR spend and it isn't that bad a thought. Hundreds of thousands of TV spectators and a pink and blue car would be identifiable on the track. And wouldn't it be spectacular to see the Bermuda car in a huge crash? Maybe not. I think that these opportunities are generally a great way of "getting the brand out" and could be money well spent.
For those of us in local events where we would like financial support from the Department of Tourism we need to find the ways to make the event consistent with their goals.[[In-content Ad]]
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