That was the information given at the seminar "Hai Phong - Golf tourism destination" held on the afternoon of August 9, at Dragon Golf Links, Dragon Hill international tourist area, Do Son district, Hai Phong city. The event was organized by the General Department of Sports and Physical Training, Hai Phong City People's Committee, Tien Phong Newspaper, and Vietnam Golf Association.
Group of guests experience golf exchange tour at Dragon Hill
"Hai Phong's tourism products have been diversified and have clearly shifted in structure, forming and developing 4 new products, including: cruise tourism, sports tourism (golf tour), agricultural and rural tourism and culinary tourism - Hai Phong foodtour", said Mr. Le Khac Nam, Vice Chairman of Hai Phong City People's Committee.
Advantages of sports tourism
According to Mr. Nam, golf tourism has become one of Hai Phong's advantageous products. For example, Hai Phong has an ideal geographical location and flight distance, located near the world's fastest growing golf markets such as Korea, Japan, etc. In addition, this city also has unique natural and cultural tourism, rich and attractive cuisine. In particular, the ideal climate allows golf tourists to operate all year round.
Mr. Vu Huy Thuong, Deputy Director of Hai Phong Department of Tourism, said that the city currently has 4 international standard golf courses. They are Sono Belle Hai Phong course on Gia River with 27 holes; BRG Ruby Tree course in Do Son with 18 holes; Vinpearl Golf Hai Phong course on Vu Yen island with 36 holes; Dragon Golf Links course at Doi Rong International Tourist Area, Do Son with 27 holes.
"These are all large, professional golf courses with diverse and attractive natural landscapes, meeting the diverse needs of players; attracting a stable and regular number of high-class tourists throughout the four seasons," said Mr. Thuong.
Ms. Tran Thi Hoang Mai, Director of the Department of Culture and Sports of Hai Phong, also said that one of the bright spots of Hai Phong sports is the development of the non-public sports sector with many types and rich methods of activities. In this non-public sports sector, golf is the sport that is built and developed according to the policy of good socialization.
According to Ms. Mai, golf is currently a popular sport. There are about 3,000 people playing golf, including many foreign investors in the city. The city currently has 4 golf courses for practice and competition, with about 1,000 players every day, especially on weekends when the number of players increases to 1,500. The Hai Phong City Golf Association currently has over 2,000 members. This is a good premise for golf tourism.
Development options
A report by a group of authors, Truong Sy Vinh, Institute for Tourism Development Research, Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, said that Vietnam currently has over 50,000 golfers, an increase of more than 1.6 times compared to 2015.
In 2018, there were an average of nearly 40,000 visitors to a golf course, with the golf course welcoming the most visitors reaching over 120,000, and the course welcoming the least visitors about 7,000. The golf tourism market to Vietnam is forecast to increase significantly in the coming time as the demand for playing this sport combined with traveling increases.
Vietnamese golf is growing, there are golfers participating in international tournaments such as Nguyen Anh Minh.
The group also believes that Hai Phong needs to build a specialized product line for golf tourism with diversity such as golf course rental, dining and equipment rental, and there are also golf courses that provide golf instruction, accommodation, transportation and entertainment services. Hai Phong also needs to strengthen its brand identity to attract visitors.
This research group also warned Hai Phong about the competition for golf tourism from neighboring localities such as Hanoi, Quang Ninh, Bac Giang, etc. These are localities that either already have many golf courses or will develop more courses in the near future. With such competition, Hai Phong needs to pay attention to developing human resources.
Mr. Tran Trong Kien, member of the Private Economic Development Research Board and Chairman of the Tourism Advisory Board, said that regional linkages should be created in golf tourism. For example, in the North, Hai Phong should link up with some localities developing golf tourism such as Quang Ninh, Hai Duong, Vinh Phuc, Hanoi, Hoa Binh, Ha Nam, Ninh Binh to form an alliance to introduce the strengths of each locality, and at the same time, suggest unique experiences to visitors.
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