The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

THE Bahamas is expected to earn more than $13 million in revenue from sports tourism in 2013, particularly due to the success of some recent events according to Tyrone Sawyer, director of sports tourism development at the Ministry of Tourism.

The FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup qualifier tournament, the ongoing Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) tournament and last night’s exhibition match between England’s Tottenham Hotspur and Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz have done a great deal for the country’s sports tourism profile, he said.

The LPGA tournament was supposed to begin on Wednesday but was postponed to Friday because of severe weather.

But Mr Sawyer said the weather issues have not affected the projected earnings from the event.

“We’ve very much still on track to beat our projections of $13 million made this year through sports tourism,” he said, adding: “We expect no negative return given the recent effects the poor weather has had on the golf and soccer tournaments. We can’t control the weather and the storm that came was basically a freak storm. Our desired returns in terms of room night attendance and visitor arrivals have already been realised.”

Mr Sawyer also said the recent success of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup qualifier tournament, held at the Malcolm Park Beach Soccer and Futsal Facility, surpassed the expectations of organisers.

He said: “The organisers of the beach soccer world cup exhibition got more than they expected and even secured additional commitments. Across all these sporting events, the feedback we have had from athletes and visitors has been tremendous.”

Fred Lunn, vice-president of the Bahamas Football Association, confirmed Mr Sawyer’s statements when he spoke to The Tribune about the success of the event.

He said: “Everyone agreed that it was one of the most successful qualifier competitions ever held any place in the world. Even the international participants felt this way.

“Persons from the FIFA organisation told us that they want us to consider hosting the next three world cup qualifiers, which shows how well received the even was. They were pleased with the response from the government, the private sector and the public in terms of support for the event and ensuring the success of it.”

Although the event was free to members of the public, Mr Lunn said all parties were pleased with the amount of money made from visitor arrivals.

He said: “Members of the public weren’t charged to attend the event, but I know that the government was happy with the net revenue made from it due to visitor arrival and room attendance.”