Sunrise Events Inc. received these trophies in 2017 in recognition of their relentless efforts in putting Cebu on the sports tourism map. Also, Ironman 70.3 Asia Pacific Championship organized by Sunrise Events, was named 2017 international event of the year. /Contributed photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines—With the Department of Tourism identifying the development of sports tourism as one of its major thrust, the 3rd Philippine Sports Tourism Awards (PSTA) now gains prominence.
The nominations for the PSTA are now open for 14 categories, including four new categories.
Presented by the Selrahco Management, the PSTA will give recognition to all stakeholders in the sports tourism sub-sector. These awards will recognize events, destinations, venues, local governments, sports associations, event organizers, tourism entities and the corporate world, which have made outstanding contributions to the sports tourism industry.
According to Selrahco president Charles Lim, they have been going around the Philippines to promote their advocacy for sports tourism by holding sports tourism forums.
The Sports Tourism Forum series is an offshoot of the first-ever forum organized in Cebu City in 2004 to encourage local government units, local sports associations, hotels, event organizers, sports and tourism bodies to hold sports events.
“After a decade of the fora, we realized the great strides and achievements some of the destinations and entities have attained,” Lim said. “Sports tourism is the fastest growing sector in the global tourism industry.”
He also noted that Cebu has the potential for hosting more sports events from ballroom dancing, triathlons, boxing and beach games, among others.
“Cebu will be one of the leading sports tourism destinations in the country but infrastructure must be improved, like more stadium; but most important – the passion for a particularly sport,” Lim pointed out.
The nominations for sports tourism events held only from January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2018 will be considered.
The categories include the Destination of the Year, Organizer of the Year-Government, Organizer of the Year-Private, Event of the Year-Domestic, Event of the Year-International, Destination Marketing of the Year, Sports Association of the Year, Hotel of the Year, Event Sponsorship of the Year, Airline of the Year and Charity Event of the Year.
Selrahco Management added four new categories for this year’s awards. These are Tour Operator of the Year, Sports Venue of the Year, Sports MICE event of the Year, and Media Coverage of Year.
Deadline for nominations is at noon of July 31, 2019. Nomination forms are available on the PSTA Facebook page www.facebook.com/ThePSTAwards/. Nominating an entry is free of charge while only the shortlisted nominations will be announced./dcb