Mission Hills China's New Resort on Hainan Island Named "Golf Resort Of The Year" by IAGTO

Mission Hills Hainan joins Shenzhen sister property as recipient of prestigious honor

(BELEK, Turkey) - Mission Hills China's Hainan Island resort - Mission Hills Hainan - has been voted 2012's "Golf Resort of the Year - Rest of the World Category" by the International Association of Golf Tourism Operators (IAGTO).

Only 15 minutes from Haikou Meilan International Airport, Mission Hills transformed a landscape of ancient volcanic terrain into a "must visit" destination for golf travelers. Mission Hills Hainan's 10 courses, all designed by Brian Curley, celebrate design genres and traditions from around the globe. Standouts include the Blackstone, host of the 2010 Mission Hills Star Trophy and 2011 Omega Mission Hills World Cup, and Lava Fields, ranked among the world's "Top 100" by Golf World magazine.

Other resort amenities include a 518-room five-star hotel; premium clubhouse; an outdoor aquatic theme park; 12 delectable world-class restaurants; state-of-the-art fitness and recreation center; flexible function and meeting rooms; shopping arcade carrying the world's finest brands; spa facilities with 61 treatment suites, volcanic mineral springs featuring 168 hot and cool springs with ancient-old bathing rituals from five continents; opulent spa villas; resort-themed residential towers and more.

Mission Hills Hainan's sister property, Mission Hills Golf Club in Shenzhen, won the award in 2006.

"The annual golf holiday is the highlight of the golfing year for many of the world's 50 million players," said Peter Walton, Chief Executive, IAGTO. "With this in mind, the IAGTO Awards were established in 2000 to reward a few exceptional contributions to this world of golf travel.

"Mission Hills China's success recognizes the resort's continued excellence in delivering a great golfing experience to the golf traveler which is, of course, the ultimate goal for all involved in golf tourism. Each year we recognize the performance of three of the world's leading golf resorts, the flagships of our industry, and it is a pleasure to list Mission Hills as one of these again this year."

More than 380 IAGTO members from 55 countries submitted nominations. Each was asked to select this year's best golf resorts from the estimated 2,000 worldwide. Rating criteria included:
• Customer satisfaction
• Quality of golf courses and accommodations
• Value for money
• Tee time accessibility
• Speed of communication / quality of service from resort sales, marketing, reservation, administrative and management staff

Joining Mission Hills Hainan as other 2012 category winners are the Fairmont St. Andrews in Scotland (Europe Category) and Turnberry Isle in Miami, Florida (North America Category).

Tenniel Chu, Vice Chairman of Mission Hills Golf Club, accepted the award and said: "China is fast becoming one of the major destinations for international golf tourists. Esteemed awards such as this will reinforce the global profile of Mission Hills China; we are very grateful to the IAGTO for once again recognizing our efforts."

The 2012 IAGTO Awards Gala Dinner took place Thursday, November 17 at the Cornelia Diamond Resort in Belek, Turkey on the final night of the International Golf Travel Market. The annual global trade show is the largest in the golf tourism industry.

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