SANYA, China, Oct. 3, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Opening Ceremony of AJGA International Pathway Series (IPS) - Sanya Open was held at Sanya Yalong Bay Golf Club on Wednesday the 27th, co-organized by Sanya Tourism Board and PacificPine Sports (PPS), the tournament attracted 104 junior players from 8 countries including China, America, Thailand, Canada and New Zealand.

AJGA International Pathway Series is one of the most well-known international golf tournaments .The Sanya Open marks the Series first venture to the tropical island of Hainan and with a long history of hosting international professional and junior events the Yalang Bay Golf Club, Sanya, is an ideal host venue.

Among the players, 16-year-old Chinese native Zixuan Wang, currently the #1 ranked female on the CGA and will compete in the Buick LPGA next month. "I've learned it's a very good tournament, and this course is stunning." Wang said, "I smell fierce competition. In addition to some familiar faces, there're some foreign players too, which is very challenging for me."

With full expectations for the upcoming tournament rounds, Napat Thongjen is one of the six Thai players participating in the tournament. "It's our first time being in China. Competing in china is really nice. I would like to do my best, hopefully compete for a win or maybe get some recognition and AJGA stars.

Albert Yip, Director General from Sanya Tourism Board, Cranberry Huang, VP of Branding & Strategy from PacificPine Sports, Deborah Jiang, General Manager from Yalong Bay Golf Club,  Kevin Smeltz, Director of Golf from PGA of America Learning Centers in China, Zixuan Wang, player representative from China, and Peter Marra, player representative from America teed off at the Opening Ceremony. Ms. Huang commented, "Sanya is one of the famous international tourist destinations, golf is a complex of tourism + sports + leisure + consumption, local tourism consumer products and golf are melded by the tournament, which aligns with the development of Sanya. The future holds great potential!

By report, domestic and foreign players and family members totaled more than 300 people. Followed by Mid-Autumn Day and National Day, some of they will continue to spend a long holiday in Sanya after the game. In order to enable these participating families to deeply experience the local customs and characteristics of Sanya, the Sanya Tourism Board has also collaborated with local high-quality tourism enterprises to launch exclusive tourism products, providing preferential convenience for participating families while also driving the enterprise to attract and increase income.

Taking multiple measures to accelerate the construction of international tourist destinations, the Sanya Tourism Board has introduced international authoritative competitions, focused on new models and formats such as "sports+tourism", and promoted Sanya's golf tourism brand to the world. It also provides more travel options for parent-child families, effectively attracting domestic and surrounding countries, increasing the length of tourists' stay in Sanya, stimulating consumption vitality, and driving high-end catering, high-end hotels shopping and other peripheral consumption. Mr. Albert Yip stated that in the future, Sanya will better utilize such internationally influential activities to promote the upgrading and upgrading of the tourism industry, and do a comprehensive and diversified job in Sanya's tourism marketing and promotion work. At the same time, the Sanya Tourism Board will further enhance international tourism reception capacity, accelerate the opening and encryption of international routes, and provide transportation convenience for more foreign athletes, families, and tourists to visit Sanya.