Growing Golf Tourism in Vietnam will be the central theme at next month’s Club Management Mini Summit. Featuring an array of high-profile speakers, the Asian Golf Industry Federation (AGIF) organised event on May 11 will be attended by a mixture of club managers and industry professionals.
According to reports, there are currently 32 golf courses open for play in Vietnam while another 60 are under construction or in the planning stage.
Indeed, Vietnam continues to be one of the most active areas in the world for new golf course development with much of the growth centred in cities such as Danang, Hoi An, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
Eric Lynge, the AGIF’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “Vietnam is the fastest-growing market in Asia over the last few years. The expansion, which has the support of the Government, is aimed at promoting golf for the domestic market with an additional focus on international tourism.”
However, golf tourism in Vietnam is still very much in its infancy. During last year’s Asia Golf Tourism Convention in Danang, Deputy Head of Vietnam National Tourism Administration Mg Ngo Hoai Chung said golfers only accounted for 0.5% of the 10 million tourists visiting Vietnam in 2016.
Nonetheless, there is considerable optimism that the country will see a significant rise in the number of golfing visitors in the coming years.
To debate the subject will be a quartet of experts, all of whom have considerable experience of the golf markets in Vietnam and around the region.
Joining Nguyễn Xuân Bình, Deputy Director, Danang Tourism Department, will be Ben Styles (pictured), Vice President of Golf and Residential Development – Hoi An South Development Ltd, and Ian Cording, Chief Operating Officer at Vinpearl Golf.
Also among the speakers is Mark Siegel, Owner and Managing Director of Golfasian, one of Asia’s most prominent golf tour companies. In 2017, Golfasian handled 21,530 golf tourists, who played 131,580 rounds. Siegel founded ‘Golf Coast Vietnam’, a destination marketing organisation which promotes Vietnam’s best golf courses to the world.
“We are delighted to have assembled such a distinguished line-up of speakers,” said Lynge. “They will offer outstanding insights into the current state of golf tourism in Vietnam … and the prospects for the future. Last year’s inaugural Mini Summit in Hanoi proved an outstanding success and we anticipate another excellent turnout this time.”
To sign up for the Mini Summit, contact AGIF Secretariat at pk.ong@agif.asia
Asian Golf Industry Federation www.agif.asia
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