Potential development of Vietnam golf market 02:30, 10/01/2022

The second “World’s Best Golf Destination” award is a signal that Vietnam has a lot of potential to develop golf tourism.

Vietnam was honored for the second time

At the 8th World Golf Awards (WGA) at Park Hyatt Dubai (UAE) last October, Vietnam was honored to receive the award “World’s Best Golf Destination” for the second time. This is the most prestigious award in the world’s golf industry, belonging to the World Travel Awards system.

During the award ceremony, the WGA emphasized: “Vietnam, where the golf market is reviving, has won big at this year’s awards ceremony with the title of “Asia’s Best Golf Destination 2021” and “World’s Best Golf Destination 2021”.

This is the second year that Vietnam is honored to receive the “World’s Best Golf Destination” award, the first time in 2009, and the 5th consecutive year to be recognized as “Asia’s Best Golf Destination” (from 2017 to 2021) of the World Golf Awards.

To win the title of “World’s Best Golf Destination”, Vietnam has surpassed many other countries such as Dubai, New Zealand, Portugal, South Africa, USA, Uruguay, China, Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Golf destinations in Vietnam with luxurious service infrastructure, classy, international standards have attracted and received high appreciation from tourists when coming to play golf and travel.

*Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Vietnam in the UAE, Mr. Nguyen Manh Tuan on behalf of Vietnam received the award.*

Previously, according to the prestigious Forbes magazine published in March 2019, Vietnam was considered the country with the fastest growth in the golf market in the world compared to 209 countries with this interesting sport.

Famous golf course architect Brian Curley said: “Vietnam will be the dominant country in the golf market in Asia. If you can buy shares of golf courses in Vietnam, I think that’s a pretty good bet for the future.”

Potential development of Vietnam golf market

In recent years, the number of golf courses in Vietnam is increasing rapidly. According to the latest statistics from R&A and global data of the National Golf Foundation, currently, Vietnam has about 100,000 golfers and nearly 100 golf courses in operation. In which, 32 golf courses meet international 5-star standards with high-class facilities and luxury resorts.

Vietnam has many sloping areas, gentle terrains with a humid tropical monsoon climate, which is very suitable for golf to develop. Compared to many countries in the region such as Japan, Korea, and Thailand, the number of golf courses in Vietnam is still quite modest, but one thing is very impressive that most of golf courses in Vietnam are designed by world’s Golf legends and famous architects in the world such as Greg Norman, Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo, Luke Donald…

Golf courses in Vietnam are all meet international standards with perfect facilities and services. Hoiana Shores once received the title of "World's Best New Golf Course in 2020". Ba Na Hills Golf Club is a golf course that has been honored with the "Best Golf Course in Vietnam" and "Asia's Best Golf Course" for 5 consecutive years by World Golf Awards. Besides golf experience, many golf courses also combine with resort services such as resorts, restaurants, and modern hotels, becoming an ideal choice for a high-class vacation.

*Vietnam Tourism Ambassador, Legendary Greg Norman*

Moreover, the geographical location of golf courses in Vietnam also meets the maximum needs of players. Golfers can choose golf courses in the inner city to save time or golf courses farther away to play golf and combine sightseeing and relaxation. Reasonable cost is also a factor that attracts both domestic and foreign golfers to Vietnam's golf courses. With all the advantages above, the golf market in Vietnam is forecasted to develop even more strongly in the future.

Opportunities and challenges for Vietnam golf tourism

Mr. Le Hung Nam, General Secretary of the Vietnam Golf Association once said: "Vietnam has the capacity to conquer 60 million golfers in the world, and the number of domestic players is increasing day by day".

The "World's Best Golf Destination 2021" award will be an opportunity for Vietnam to promote and attract a potential international golf market with high spending. Moreover, golf tourism is a self-contained, safe, healthy product that is adaptable to the Covid-19 context.

However, golf tourism is still a new concept in Vietnam in both theory and practice. The biggest limitation of Vietnam's golf tourism is that the connection between travel businesses and golf courses is not strong enough, so golf tours account for a low percentage. Golf tourism is hardly connected with other types of tourism. Besides, Vietnam has not been able to organize professional golf tournaments of international stature, the promotion campaign is still weak, making golf tourism in Vietnam still unfamiliar to many people.

In the seminar "Golf tourism - A New Advantage for Vietnam to Attract International Tourists", many opinions said that Vietnam should soon have a plan to develop and adjust golf tourism products and services quickly, thereby turning Vietnam into a bright spot in this green economy worldwide.

In 2022, let's wait and expect the highlights of golf tourism thanks to the impact of this prestigious award!