Ryder Cup

The First Minister and I separately visited Ireland to attend the Ryder Cup at the K Club in County Kildare.  The event was attended by 45,000 spectators per day and was watched by an estimated 1 billion TV viewers around the globe. As the Irish Examiner commented on 25 September "Viewed by millions, the Ryder Cup is now a global marketing phenomenon and the event has projected a highly positive image of Ireland to the world". That is the opportunity and challenge that faces Wales over the next 4 years.

As the next  European host nation it was vital that ‘Team Wales’ had a strong presence at the event to learn from it and to use our association with Ryder Cup 2010 to raise Wales profile and maximise the wider economic and tourism benefits.  

I held very constructive meetings with both Ireland's Minster for Tourism and the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural resources. I met representatives of a leading transatlantic airline and gained a commitment to receive a full ‘Team Wales’ presentation with a view to establishing a route into Cardiff before the 2010 Ryder Cup.

Both the First Minister and I held formal meetings with a significant number of potential investors in Wales.  I have been overwhelmed by the response from the companies and investors to our organisation and presence at the Ryder Cup.  Such was the professionalism of ‘Team Wales’ and the response from investors that I am confident that it will lead to new investment in Wales which will repay our investment many many times over. Follow up activity in relation to these meetings will take place over the coming months.

I met with leading US golf tour operators and journalists who identified marketing opportunities in the US and I held informal meetings with other key contacts amongst the 200+ guests we hosted in and around the event including at a Welsh evening which the British ambassador to Ireland described as " ...a first rate presentation of the attractions of Wales". I also attended a reception hosted by the US ambassador to Ireland.

The First Minister had very productive discussions with the Governor of Kentucky, the host state for the 2008 Ryder Cup, attended a state reception hosted by the Ireland’s Minister for Tourism and met with Golf Travel writers form USA and Canada who had just spent 6 days in Wales visiting a range of Golf Facilities. They advised on ways in which golf in Wales might be promoted in North America prior to Ryder Cup 2010.

During the course of the event both the First Minister and I along with other members of ‘Team Wales’, including Sir Terry Matthews, Bryn Terfel, Ieuan Evans and Brian Huggett, representatives of the City of Newport and the South Wales Emergency services undertook a full behind the scenes tour of the event. Those tours confirmed the sheer scale of an event which, to service its spectators, requires 24 grandstands, 400,000 square metres of tentage, 52,000 hospitality meals, a massive logistical operation including 3 major park and ride sites, 410 buses and coaches and a 2 mile security zone around the site.

The visit confirmed that the plans the Ryder Cup Wales infrastructure working group has drawn up for 2010 are on the right track but planning structures for both our presence in Kentucky in 2008 and of course for the event in 2010 will be reviewed in light of what we have learnt in Ireland. For example, as a result of their visit, Cardiff International Airport has decided to set up an internal project team to ensure all is in place for the Ryder Cup.

Over the course of the week Team Wales has 29 representatives on site at various times. As well as Ministers and the Leader and Chief Executive of Newport the team included staff from Assembly Government and Ryder Cup Wales 2010 who acted as hosts, on a ratio of one to every four to six guests and event organisers for the Welsh golf day, the Wales evening, and the hospitality unit.  Two exhibition staff managed Wales stand in the tented village where interest was very strong with 4000 contacts generated for the golf consumer database. A very small communications team secured interviews to help raise the profile of Wales and service the Welsh media present.  The total budget for our presence in Ireland was £236,000.  

This investment has helped raise the profile of Wales as the next host nation, allowed us to attract and hold negotiations with key potential investors and helped ensure that we will be fully prepared for the event at Celtic Manor.

Ryder Cup 2010 is a unique International showcase for Wales. In 4 years time the eyes of the world will be on Wales. We must invest time and resources to ensure the best possible image of Wales is presented on the global stage that the event provides.  Ireland has set the bar very high for effective administration and warmth of welcome despite the freak weather that struck Co. Kildare as the tournament was about to start.  We have to set our goals to achieve even higher standards in 2010.