The world`s largest sporting event in 2018 will be the Asian Games. The Games are being staged in Indonesia with two host cities – Jakarta (Java) and Palembang (Sumatra). The Asian Games are classified as a mega-event: they occur every four years, involve international and national government and non-government agencies, are very complex to organise, involve thousands of people and are transformational in nature. To host a mega-event countries/cities go through a competitive bidding process in which they have to demonstrate the impacts and legacies that will be achieved by hosting the event. Normally, the impacts relate to economic, social and environmental factors and the legacies can be the rejuvenation and regeneration of landscapes, urban areas and social groups in a society.
Both Jakarta and Palembang will benefit by hosting the Asian Games 2018. New light rail transport networks are being built, new sports facilities are being developed and new accommodation is being built to house the athletes and the officials of the Games. Once the Games are over these facilities will be available for use by the populations of Jakarta and Palembang and the tourists who visit these cities.
Palembang Tourism Polytechnic (PTP) is a new institute of higher education that has been created by Indonesia`s Ministry of Tourism to help South Sumatra develop a tourism industry. PTP is being created in the Palembang sports city and is in the heart of all the preparations that are taking place for the Asian Games. Students from PTP will work as volunteers at the Games and will no doubt contribute significantly to developing South Sumatra and Palembang as tourist destinations once the Games are over.
A vision of Palembang Tourism Polytechnic is to establish itself as Indonesia`s Centre of Excellence for Sports Tourism. This is a great ambition being driven by the Director and Deputy Director of the Polytechnic. It is an honour for APIEM to have been invited to be a partner in realising this vision by working with PTP to devise a sports tourism curriculum that will be of an international standard. A Memorandum of Agreement has been signed between PTP and APIEM that will see APIEM working with PTP throughout 2018 on the research that is needed to design a sports tourism curriculum and then to help with the academic authoring of the sports tourism curriculum.
Mega-events should have long lasting legacies to benefit future generations. The creation of the Indonesia Centre of Excellence in Sports Tourism at Palembang Tourism Polytechnic will be a tremendous legacy of the Asian Games 2018 and will contribute significantly to helping Palembang and South Sumatra continue to attract thousands of tourists to this beautiful part of Indonesia once the Games have finished.
Further news items about APIEM`s work at PTP will be posted on this website in the months ahead.
