Sunday, November 30, 2008

How about "Big Fluffy Flop".....

I get a charge out of these Tourism guys.... "Ferguson said the province plans to milk the upcoming television coverage for all it is worth" .... when in fact it's probably the other way around as its Island taxpayers that are getting milked here... why is our government still in the Golf business... didn't the Premier say Sell, Sell, Sell... Valarie, how about some of those free green fees for Christmas....
Reality golf show filmed on P.E.I. should be on before first teeoff in 2009
JIM DAY
The Guardian
A reality show viewed by millions of American golfers will air in time to help draw visitors to play on P.E.I. in 2009, says an Island tourism official. Robert Ferguson, acting director of marketing with Tourism P.E.I., said he now knows when the U.S.-based Golf Channel plans to air its popular Big Break series that was filmed on the Mill River Golf Course earlier this year. He can’t reveal the date now, but he assures that the program will run at an advantageous time to promote P.E.I. as a golf destination next season. “It will be a very good time in terms of generating exposure for the province,’’ he said. “It will impact visitation in 2009.’’ The provincial government has driven $800,000 into a two-year partnership agreement with The Golf Channel, a television network that reaches approximately 80 million homes in the U.S. and Canada and 30 million internationally. That agreement saw the specialty channel’s most popular original program, Big Break, filmed here this past summer. Ferguson said the province plans to milk the upcoming television coverage for all it is worth. “The return in terms of exposure and the numbers, it’s incredible,’’ he said. “It’s extremely big.’’ The golf industry could use a shot in the arm after seeing play drop by about 10 per cent this year, a decrease largely attributed to heavy rainfall, including a steady deluge that saw August become the wettest month on record in P.E.I. Barry MacLeod, chief operating officer for Golf P.E.I., told The Guardian earlier this year that the province has been holding its own for volume of golf. He said the number of rounds have remained steady over the past three years at around 362,000 on the 18-member courses that belong to the marketing group Golf P.E.I. In Big Break, golfers vie for a shot to play on a professional golf tour. Prince Edward Island is the first Canadian destination to be the host site for the reality series.

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