Hanoi (VNA) –𝔉 Vietnam’s golf tourism is expected to become “the goose that lays golden eggs” in the coming years after infrastructure in service of the sector is completed, thus helping lure high-spending holidaymakers.

Opportunities

According to the International Association of Golf Tour Operators (IAGTO), there are about 60 million golfers worldwide who spend more than twice as much as normal tourists. Therefore, golf tourism has brought about huge benefits to economies. IAGTO gathers 61 member countries with about 638 golf tour companies, making up 87% of the market share, and generating about 2.5 billion USD each year, with nearly 1.9 million regular golfers. Over the past years, Vietnam has emerged as an attractive destination for golf tourism thanks to its uniqueness in terrain, natural resources, and local culture. Vietnam was honoured as the world and Asia's best golf destination in 2019, 2021 and 2022 at the annual World Golf Awards. The country was also named as the most attractive golf destination in Asia-Pacific by the Asia Golf Magazine. The country is now home to 60 18-hole golf courses, and the number is expected to rise to 200 by 2025, said Tran Hieu, Director of the Vietnam Sport Science Institute under the Sports Authority of Vietnam. The Vietnam Golf Tourism Association (VTGA) reported that in the first two months of this year, the domestic golf tourism sector attracted more than 800,000 out of 1.8 million international visitors to Vietnam, most of whom spent around 40 million VND (1,685 USD) in five days, excluding airfares, as compared with the daily spending of 130 USD by a normal tourist. Experts have seen golf tourism as a solution to boost revenue for the country’s green economy as golf tourists not only plays golf but also uses high-end lodging and catering services. Therefore, they said, investing in golf tourism will help Vietnam improve service quality, diversify products, raise competitiveness, and attract more high-spending and long-stay tourists.

“Golden mine”

The experts also pointed out that the sector still lacks professionalism and a long-term master plan to optimise its potential and advance its position, while promoting the sport among the public. Chairman of the Vietnam Golf Association (VGA)Vu The Binh noted that golf tourism needs exclusive incentives given the special consumption tax of up to 20% imposed on the sector, making it lose the competitive edge. VTGA Vice Chairman Tran Ngoc Hai said the domestic golf tourism is facing various obstacles such as the lack of attention by almost travel firms, limited workforce and poor products, along with limitations regarding communications activities and technologies. Notably, Vietnam has only 32 golf courses that meet international five-star standards, as compared with other regional countries like Thailand with 300 courses; Malaysia, 230; and Indonesia, 152. Meanwhile, the cost of playing golf in Vietnam is 1.5-2 times higher than that in other Southeast Asian nations. Given this, there should be a long-term, comprehensive strategy for all businesses in the sector, Binh said, suggesting the firms set up connectivity and work towards a common target.  The roadmap should be worked out after careful market research, he said, calling on authorities to support travel firms in these efforts./.