Charles Lim, the president of SELRAHCO, is deeply passionate about sports and destination marketing. In 2004, he initiated a program alongside several tourism and sports figures aimed at promoting and establishing high standards in organizational skills for managing sport events in the Philippines.
The Department of Tourism (DoT) and the Philippine Sports Commission have provided strong support for this project. Up to today, the Sports Tourism Forum continues to take place and has reached over 12 major cities across the country.
In 2015, Lim ventured into another worthy endeavor and created The Philippine Sports Tourism Awards, which marks a significant achievement for the sports tourism advocacy group. This year’s event honored 19 awardees from various sectors, including sports associations and local governments, for their impact in 2023.
Notable awards included the Adventure Event of the Year, which was presented to the Tour de Cebu, an annual vintage car rally that has been taking place since 2014. Additionally, the Sports Tourism Personality of the Year went to Wilfred Uytengsu for the private sector and William Ramirez for the public sector. Each recipient received a 15-inch gold plated trophy symbolizing 10 dynamics of sports tourism, such as sustainability and legacy.
In 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, Charles Lim established Sports Turismo Alliance, Inc., a non-profit organization, aimed at uniting sports tourism awardees to foster the ongoing promotion of sports tourism.
His efforts were immediately rewarded when Sports Turismo Alliance, Inc. gained membership to the International Association of Event Hosts, a London-based world organization that aims to provide a platform for members to learn from each other’s experiences ultimately generating greater long term social and economic benefits from hosting events.
Today, merging all these milestones through a colorful and significant journey, Lim and his small but effective conglomerate stands steadfast with the government’s efforts, through the DoT and the various sports communities and host cities, to strongly support and promote sports tourism in the Philippines.