DAVAO City will play host to the highly acclaimed Sports Tourism Forum on July 25 at Grand Men Seng Hotel.
This was jointly announced by Davao City Sports Development and the City Tourism Offices with Selrahco Management, the conference management outfit.
The forum is expected to gather sports tourism stakeholders, such as sports clubs and association officials, hotels and resorts managers, event organizers, corporate sponsors, schools, travel and tour operators, local sports and tourism officials, golf and country club officers, civic and professional club officials to discuss various topics aimed to prepare the city as a sports tourism destination.
The one day forum is also aimed at developing the city's potential to become a sports tourism hub to make it more appealing to a fast growing market.
Topics to be presented include developing events as a tourism product, planning, staging and managing sports events with emphasis on sponsorship strategies and event marketing, evaluating present sports facilities and sports tourism products, interaction with local government units(sports and tourism agencies), working with and seeking endorsements from national sports associations, spirit of volunteerism and some case studies.
The panel of speakers include Cynthia Carrion, chef de Mission Southeast Asia Games 2017 and former Undersecretary for Sports Tourism of the Department of Tourism, Princess Galura, general manager, Sunrise Events, Charles Lim, founder, Philippines Sports Tourism Awards, Mr Jude Tucuarto, general manager of Fox Networks Group Philippines, and other marketing experts from the tourism and sports sectors.
Department of Tourism Regional Director Robby Abalado, Mikey Apotadera of the Davao City Sports Development and Generose Tecson of Davao City Tourism will also do their presentations on sports tourism.
Secretary Wanda Teo of the Department of Tourism has been invited to keynote the forum with Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio and Philippine Sports Commission chair William Ramirez as special guests.
The forum, will be hosted by the City of Davao and supported by the Department of Tourism and the Philippine Sports Commission.
Registration is now ongoing on a first come first serve basis with Selrahco Management. Interested parties may call +639324261303 email selrahcopr@gmail.com or apollo.selrahco@gmail.com for more details. Fee is at P1,500.00 per person, which includes lunch and snacks, forum kit and certificates.
Strengthen digital development strategies
Developed and developing countries policymakers have been encouraged to map out investment policies that strengthen digital development strategies to further boost growth.
This after the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development's (Unctad) World Investment Report 2017 sees the need for countries to create and maintain a conducive regulatory framework for digital firms as well as active support measures.
These measures may include establishing technology or innovation hubs, building or improving e-government services, and supporting venture capital funding and other innovative financing approaches.
"Digital development should be embedded in investment policies, and investment policy should be embedded in digital development strategies," the report said.
The report noted that the digital economy is a key driver of growth and development.
"It can provide a boost to competitiveness across all sectors, new opportunities for business and entrepreneurial activity, and new avenues for accessing overseas markets and participating in global e-value chains," it said.
The Unctad pointed out that the digital economy has important implications for investment which is crucial for digital development.
"The adoption of digital technologies has the potential to transform the international operations of MNEs (multinational enterprises) and the impact of foreign affiliates on host countries," it said.
The Unctad also said a comprehensive digital development strategy should cover investment in digital infrastructure, in digital firms, and in digital adoption by firms across all industries.
The Unctad estimated the infrastructure investment requirements for achieving adequate connectivity for most developing countries at less than $100 billion.
It said developed and developing countries should leverage the opportunities of digital development and not be left behind.
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