Emirates extends sponsorship of the UBS Hong Kong Open
The 50th edition of the UBS Hong Kong Open, a major professional golf tournament promoted by PMG, has been further boosted by the news that Emirates Airline will extend its sponsorship through 2011.
“We are very excited to be an integral part of the UBS Hong Kong Open – an excellent platform to connect with our customers and passengers..." Edwin Lau, Emirates’ Vice President of Hong Kong and China
The new three-year sponsorship contract continues Emirates’ hugely successful partnership with the tournament that began in 2005.
Emirates will continue to be the Open’s Official Airline following on from the initial four-year sponsorship.
Edwin Lau, Emirates’ Vice President of Hong Kong and China, said: “We are very excited to be an integral part of the UBS Hong Kong Open – an excellent platform to connect with our customers and passengers. Sports sponsorship is an important component of our marketing strategy and our close association with the Open has helped enhance our brand awareness and business in the region.”
Emirates join the following sponsors BMW, Hugo Boss, Ricoh, Rolex, Samsung, PCCW (the telecommunications giant of Hong Kong), Jebsen, Ecco, AIA, Korean Ginseng, Heineken, Tibet Water, Verizon and Ballantine’s as key partners to the tournament.
PMG has promoted the Open since 2000. Revenue from the 2007 UBS Hong Kong Open generated the Group £2.5million last year. PMG anticipate a significant revenue improvement for the 2008 Hong Kong Open as a result of these sponsors.
First held in 1959, the Open is Hong Kong’s oldest professional sporting event and is considered one of the jewels in the crown of Asian golf with a prize purse this year of US$2.5 million. It has always been staged at the same venue, the historic Hong Kong Golf Club in Fanling, and is sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the European Tour.
The list of past champions reads like a who’s who of golf and includes golfing icons Peter Thomson, Tom Watson, Greg Norman, Bernhard Langer, Ian Woosnam, Jose Maria Olazabal, Colin Montgomerie and Padraig Harrington.
