The Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship is poised for an influx of young Emiratis after a class of 60 nationals enrolled in Abu Dhabi’s annual Tourism Youth Summer Camp series – a programmeorganised by Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Dhabi) in conjunction with the European International College (EIC) – pledged to help grow the tournament, improve its grassroots penetration and reach more of the Emirati community.

As part of the Camp’sSports Tourism module, the students -boys and girls all aged between 15 and 17 - received an hour-long Championship briefing, learnedhow the high-profile, European Tour event hasincreased Abu Dhabi’s exposure on the global sporting map and posed for pictures with the January 16-19 event’s coveted Falcon Trophy.

“Most of the students were aware of the Championship but very few had been to see it for themselves,” said Fatima Al Melhi, Industry Awareness Executive, TCA Abu Dhabi. “They were shocked by the energy and excitement which came across in videos and images – it totally countered any misgivings they had about golf being a boring game for adults.

“The students were inspiredwhen they discovered that the country’s top Emirati player lines up against the world’s best every year and they reflected on how more Emiratis should attend the tournament. They said it would be great if international TV viewers ‘saw more khandoras’ on their screens,” added Al Melhi.

The Tourism Youth Summer Camp sees studentstake part in various workshops designed to boost their awareness of the emirate’s tourism industry and inherent economic, social and environmental impacts; embark on field trips to better acquaint them with Abu Dhabi’s expanding tourism offering and participate in team building exercises to develop their interpersonal skills.

With various stakeholders contributing prizes for high performers, the students also undertake fact-finding field trips of Yas Island, Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, the Zayed Centre, Abu Dhabi Pearl Journey, The St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort and the Manarat Al Saadiyat exhibition centre.
 

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