Kolkata all set for the season opener Hero RCGC Women’s Pro Golf Championship 2013

Kolkata all set for the season opener Hero RCGC Women’s Pro Golf Championship 2013

Smriti Mehra and Vani Kapoor all set to revive the OOM rivalry; Sharmila Nicollet withdraws due to injury while Nalini Siwach bids farewell to professional Golf

Kolkata, January 28, 2013: Royal Calcutta Golf Club will play the perfect host to the season opening leg of the Hero Women’s Professional Golf tour 2013. The club that boasts of a rich history will host the Rs. 4,00,000 Hero RCGC Women’s Pro Golf Championship 2013 from the 29^th to the 31^st of January 2013.The HeroWomen’s Professional Golf Tour 2013 will spread amongst 12 legs with a total of INR 60,00,000 as prize money.

This tournament will also see the revival of the stiff competition between Veteran golfer and 2012 OOM leader Smriti Mehra (Rs. 8,62,750) and the young and dynamic golfer Vani Kapoor (Rs. 8, 13, 500) who impressed the whole country by her fiery performance as a professional in her rookie season last year. Golf lovers from the City of Joy will be rooting for local girl Neha Tripathi who finished fourth in the 2012 Hero OOM with a total earning of Rs. 4,79,000.

Bangalore Golfer Sharmila Nicollet who retained her LET card for the 2013 season after a superb performance at Morocco in the LET Q School last year will miss the first leg of the Hero RCGC Women’s Pro Golf Championship 2013 as she withdrew due to injury yesterday. Ranked third in the 2012 Hero OOM, Delhi golfer Nalini Singh Siwach bid farewell to professional golf due to personal reasons and will not been see on the circuit this year onwards, while the tour has a new addition from Kenya, Bhavi Shah who will be the Rookie Player on the Hero Women’s Professional Golf Tour 2013.

“We had a very successful season last year, where both experienced hands like Smriti and young blood Vani and Nalini put up a great show making it a very exciting season. However we are really disappointed with Nalini Singh Siwach’s retirement news from Women’s professional golf. This is a real set back to the tour where we miss out on an extremely talented golfer right at the beginning of the 2013 season. Nalini was an extremely hardworking player whose potential had not yet been realized.  However we are happy to have Bhavi Shah from Kenya as our rookie player this season and we hope the trend of high level competitive golf continues this year as well and we see more youngsters coming into fray. Women’s golf has seen considerable growth over past few years and we at WGAI are confident to keep the upward momentum going”, said Mrs Champika Sayal, Secretary General, WGAI.

Along with Smriti Mehra, Vani Kapoor and Neha Tripathi other golfers who would be seen on field today onwards are Ankita Tiwana, Pallavi Jain, Priya Puri, Rani Sonti, Vandana Agarwal and Bhavi Shah.

IAAPI ALL SET TO HOST 13TH AMUSEMENT EXPO IN PRAGATI MAIDAN

January 29, 2013

IAAPI all set to host 13^th Amusement Expo in Pragati Maidan

Mega leisure-entertainment industry event to showcase the best & the latest

 New Delhi, 28^th January, 2013: Amusement parks and Family Entertainment Centres (FEC) are a sunrise sector in India. There are 100 amusement parks and the same number of FECⳠin India and the number is likely to increase more than five times in the next decade.

Keeping in sync with the growth dynamics of this sector, Indian Association of Amusement Parks and Industries (IAAPI) a 260 member association is hosting its 13^th Amusement Expo in DelhiⳠPragati Maidan from January 29^th to 31^st.

IAAPI is an apex, non-profitable organization established in January, 1999. Their members comprise of amusement park operators, manufacturers, importers, traders, suppliers, distributors and other affiliated sectors of the amusement and leisure industry.

“Our members vary from manufacturers to operators and suppliers of amusement related equipment. We also assist new entrants in sourcing technical knowhow in setting up their own amusement parks,⒠says Yogesh Dange, 1^st Vice President IAAPI.

There is need to tap foreign visitors who at present comprise only 2 to 3 per cent of visitors of these parks in India. Compared to this around 59 per cent foreign visitors visit amusement parks in countries like US, Singapore and Australia.

A sure way of increasing footfalls in these parks is through publicity both done by the private sector and also through the government.

“Over a decade back when Anant Kumar was the tourism minister, he had said that there was a need to introduce information about amusement parks in their tourism brochures,⒠says Santokh Chawla, President IAAPI.

Entertainment tax levied on some of these parks acts as a deterrent in growth of business, this should be rationalized. Some states in a bid to give a boost to this segment have exempted these parks from paying entertainment tax.

“IndiaⳊfirst amusement park was Appu Ghar in Delhi which was set up during the Asian Games in 1982 in Pragati Maidan. Since it was the only of its kind, people visiting Delhi would make it a point to visit this place. Now with technological advancement the amusement parks are much more sophisticated and of international standards across the country. As a result there is a steady increase in the number of visitors in these parks,⒠says Ajay Sarin, Chairman Trade Show.

The cost of investment in an amusement park ranges from Rs 3 crore to over Rs 40 crore. The break-even period varies from 2 years to 5 years. The highest earnings come from tickets, followed by food and beverage sales and the last is merchandising.

IAAPI had commissioned Ernst and Young to conduct a study on this segment. According to the report, the amusement industry in India is worth over Rs 2,750 crore at present and is expected to reach Rs 5,400 crore by 2020.

The study further points out,“apart from providing entertainment, the growth of parks will act as a stimulus for the development of ancillary industries by building a social infrastructure within suburban and rural areas where these parks are generally located. Amusement parks are also known to create opportunities and generate employment in related sectors including raw material and equipment manufacturers, suppliers, transporters etc.Ⓖ/span>

“The upcoming Expo is expected to give a boost to this sector in India which is growing at a rate of 15 to 20 per cent. The Expo will have participants from across the globe including countries like Argentina, Canada, China, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Japan, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, UAE, UK and USA. Out of the total 120 exhibitors there are 30 international equipment manufacturers taking part in the Expo,⒠says Dange.

This Expo will primarily be a B2B event wherein visitors would include architects, builders, developers, consultants, engineering firms, hoteliers, government officials, park operators and resort owners.

IAAPI will also organize training programmes and conferences during the course of the three days of the Expo.

“The amusement industry has huge potential and we have seen only increase in the footfalls over last couple of years which indicates that more number of people are looking for wholesome family entertainment destinations and amusement parks provide that opportunity where a family can spend quality time together,⒠says Dange.

For further information contact

Yeshi Seli, Head, Wular Media Strategy Consultants (M) 9811153128༯span>wularmedia@gmail.com,༯span>yeshiseli@gmail.com

Vipin Labroo (M) 9873981975༯span>labroovipin@gmail.com