Cruisebestemmingen trekken minder Belgische reizigers

Het voorbije jaar hebben 65.000 Belgische toeristen voor een cruisevakantie geopteerd. Dat betekende een daling met ongeveer 10 procent tegenover het jaar voordien. Dat is gebleken uit cijfers van sectororganisatie Cruise Line International Association (CLIA).

Vastgesteld werd dat op alle bestemmingen een achteruitgang diende te worden opgetekend. De Middellandse Zee en Zwarte Zee blijven voor de Belgische cruisetoerist wel de belangrijkste bestemming, gevolgd door Scandinavië. Op de derde plaats staan Bermuda en de Caraïben.

De daling bij het Belgische cruisetoerisme gaat wel in tegen de Europese trend, waar een nieuw recordjaar kon worden gemeld.

Promotie

Het voorbije jaar kozen 33.000 Belgische toeristen voor een cruisevakantie in het gebied van de Middellandse Zee of de Zwarte Zee. Dat betekende een daling met 12 procent tegenover het jaar voordien.

© Aangeboden door Express.be

In Noord-Europa diende zelfs een achteruitgang met 30 procent tot ongeveer 12.000 reizigers te worden gemeld. Daarbij wordt wel opgemerkt dat Scandinavië grote promotie-inspanningen had gedaan om zich als een boeiende cruisebestemming te manifesteren.

Bij de cruises naar Bermuda en de Caraïben diende een achteruitgang met 10 procent tot 7.000 toeristen te worden geregistreerd.

Op Europees niveau boekte het cruisetoerisme een stijging met 3 procent tot een record van 6,59 miljoen reizigers.

Sophie Leten elected new President of the PGA of Belgium

With the end of the 5-year term as President of the Board of Directors in sight, Philippe Vanderstricht will not be up for re-election at the next AGM of April 2016.  His newly extended duties at (Royal) Limburg GCC take up too much of his time to meet the level of efficiency he always set forth.

The Board of Directors has recently met to elect a new President according to the Constitution procedures, and has unanimously elected Sophie Leten for the coming term 2016-2018. 

Message from the next President of the Professional Golfers’ Association of Belgium

                                                                                                                                       

"Dear Stakeholders,

After being Board Member since 2012 I now had the honor of being elected as next President of the Board of Directors at the PGA of Belgium. I enjoyed seeing the evolution the PGA has made since I became a teaching pro.

Firstly, I would like to thank Philippe Vanderstricht, whom I succeed, for his excellent work at the PGA together with our very efficient and professional CEO Bernard De Bruyckere and the dynamic Board of Directors team.  Also a big thanks to the President of the Board of Governors Luc Opdebeeck and his team. 

After obtaining a bachelor degree in Physical Education in Belgium I worked for a year at a golf wholesaler. Then I started my PGA education in 1995 at The Belfry in the UK. Nowadays we have an excellent education program in Belgium.

The Belgian PGA Education Program is recognized internationally for its educational quality. The three-level program covers a wide range of subjects relevant to a career as a PGA Professional and tests individual knowledge and skills through rigorous assessment.

As PGA we are dedicated to the continued education of our PGA members through innovative training programs. Our members are advised on equipment, national training, mental coaching, interclub team building, course management and travel to sunny locations…

The PGA of Belgium greatly values the support of our partners in helping us, a nonprofit organization, to further develop the quality of the golf sport in Belgium. You can see their names on our website www.pga.be. 

We also continue to work closely with the Belgian national and regional Golf Federations, the RBGF, VVG and AFG.

To finish, I would like to point your attention to the fact that golf became an Olympic Sport at the end of the Olympic Presidency of Jacques Rogge.  A further recognition to the continued evolution of our great sport.

I look forward to meet you at our PGA events.

Yours sincerely,

Sophie Leten "

NICE ‘N’ EASY DOES IT: GREAT GOLF NOW FEELS CLOSER THAN EVER IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

 For golfers who like to spend as much of their vacation time as possible on the fairways, enjoying different experiences and a variety of courses, the Caribbean’s most spectacular golf destination is easier than ever to get to and to get around.

Thanks to clear highways and the close proximity of courses in the Bávaro, Punta Cana and Cap Cana areas on the country’s east coast, golfers who are serious about their game can play a different course every day with ease. These three areas, which together offer 10 courses, are all within a half-hour’s drive of each other.

Even the Dominican Republic’s golf destinations feel much closer together than they did a few years back. Most notably, golfers staying in Punta Cana may be surprised to learn that they can reach the trio of Pete Dye courses –open to visitors – at Casa de Campo within 45 minutes, and vice versa. The scenic journey from Santo Domingo to La Romana on the aptly named Coral Highway is now a cool 90-minute drive, with Gary Player’s challenging Guavaberry Golf Club and the Los Marlins Golf Course at neighboring Metro Country Club, conveniently located at the half way point near the beach resort of Juan Dolio.

Getting to the Dominican Republic is just as easy. Served by eight international gateways, every golf course is within easy reach so golfers will have no problem getting in a round of golf both on the day they arrive and the day they leave, flight times permitting.

With Grupo Puntacana owning Punta Cana International Airport – which has direct service from over 28 countries and 96 cities around the world, including U.S. gateways such as Atlanta, Charlotte, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore, New York, Chicago, Cincinnati, Washington, Dallas and Houston – and the runways just minutes from Puntacana Resort’s two courses, golfing visitors will find the process of arrivals and departures quick and painless. Golfers can be on the first tee of its La Cana or Corales courses within half an hour of landing.

Getting a round in on arrival day is just as easy for golfers staying in nearby tourist areas and playing other golf courses. The Higuey-Miches Highway runs from Punta Cana’s airport and passes right by courses including the Lakes Barceló Golf Course, Cocotal Golf & Country Club, Iberostate Bávaro Golf Club, Punta Blanca Golf Club and the Hard Rock Golf Club at Cana Bay, with their adjacent hotels, giving a journey time of less than 30 minutes from terminal to resort. Similarly, a late afternoon or evening flight home allows golfers to play 18 holes and freshen up with a shower in the clubhouse or back in their room before checking in at the airport.

La Romana has an airport with international flights just minutes from Casa de Campo and its golf courses, while Santo Domingo’s airport has several courses close by as well as a half-hour drive away from Juan Dolio. On the Atlantic coast, Puerto Plata’s airport is nearby to Playa Dorada Golf Course and just 90 minutes from the recently reopened Playa Grande Golf Course, at Rio San Juan.

Altogether, 18 of the destination’s most popular tourist-friendly golf courses are clustered together in coastal holiday resorts with hotels on site or nearby. New roads have also dramatically reduced travel times between key resorts as well as with the capital, Santo Domingo, allowing golfers to comfortably play courses in different areas without having to change hotels.

Dominican Republic presents a high-end offer for golf players, with exclusive courses of intriguing designs. The perfect scenario closes the deal by the fact that no golf destination is too far away from each other for it be enjoyed in one day, making the country in the place to be for a magical-one of kind golf experience.