By Jean Malanum
MANILA – The country’s hosting of the Karate One Youth League is a sound investment for local tourism and the sport that will pay off dividends immediately and beyond.
The event, presented by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), will be held at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City from May 14 to 17.
“This tournament will be a huge boost for local tourism,” Karate ng Pilipinas Sports Federation, Inc. president Ricky Lim said in a news release Tuesday.
More than 1,000 promising karatekas from 58 countries are seeing action in the four-day meet sanctioned by the World Karate Federation (WKF).
Among those with big delegations are Australia (78), Saudi Arabia (40), Malaysia (47), New Zealand (39), Kazakhstan (27), and the United States and Uzbekistan with 19 each. The Philippines is fielding 201 athletes.
“Our participants are children. We expect most of their parents to tag along, meaning that we can expect at least double the foreign and local tourists to come to Manila for the competition. In fact, the Malaysian youth team was set to arrive yesterday (Monday) so they can train with our young local karatekas,” Lim said.
Also expected to arrive are officials of the WKF, led by president Anthony Espinos of Spain, and the Asian Karate Federation, who will preside and officiate in the tournament.
“We can expect our foreign visitors to use the opportunity to sample the culture, food, sights, and sounds of Manila and outside of it,” he said.
“Of course, these visitors can be expected to go shopping, bringing home mementos of their experiences from the trip.”
The Karate Pilipinas chief said that this is proof of PSC chair Patrick Gregorio’s advocacy that “sports tourism, when properly done, can serve (as) a major source of income for our country while providing sustainable jobs for those in the industry.”
Lim also underscored the importance of the global youth karate festival for the up-and-coming local karatekas, who will be exposed to top-caliber play for four straight days and compete against youth athletes worldwide.
“Now, our young karatekas and their coaches will not have to go overseas to compete against the best of their peers in their respective age group. This would be more expensive,” he said.
“Now, not only will they get to see top-flight karate action, but (this) also serves as a learning experience for four straight days. Indeed, this is a win-win situation not only for our sport but for local tourism as well.” (PNA)
