Whole-in-one vision for tourism
In 2010, Ken Chu and his father, David Chu, together ranked ninth in the “World’s Golf Power List” of the US Golf Inc magazine. Now, having inherited the world’s largest golf club from his father (who died last year), Mission Hills Group chairman and CEO Ken Chu has also inherited his late father’s dream – to elevate the 15,000-staff group to new heights, by transforming Hainan into an international tourism island.
What is golf to you?
Golf is a business language, a social networking tool, a medium to link the East and the West. I believe that if I did not know the “language”, I would be disconnected from the business world as well.
But I didn’t think like this until I returned to Hong Kong from Toronto 16 years ago. Before then, I regarded golf as merely a retirement sport.
What’s the secret behind Mission Hills’ success?
It is the offering of “golf and more”. Besides golf courses, we develop many other facilities, such as hotels, spas, facilities for children, and a wide variety of restaurants.
At the end of the day, everybody gets together and has fun. We can enhance our guests’ overall business, entertainment, and even family reunion experiences.
What changes have you seen in the golf business over the years?
In the past decade, golf was widely regarded as an elite sport, and now it has become more mass-market, more popular. I think that this is because people today have a healthier lifestyle. As a sport, golf becomes part of life – especially for those aged 40 and above. This is because it doesn’t require enormous amounts of strength or endurance.
Meanwhile, golf has gone beyond the territory of sport to become a tourism industry. This industry is different from that of the sightseeing one. It is an interactive type of tourism, in which people visit the destination over and over again.
Is Mission Hills going to expand worldwide?
Currently, in China, the demand for golf courses is much higher than the available supply, and everyone wants to have a stake in China given its economic growth.
Meanwhile, there are many countries which need China’s investments &ndas