Vietnam is ‘Undiscovered Golf Destination of the Year’

 
Photo courtesy of NguyenTrung

It seems that 2008 will be a pivotal year for Vietnam, thanks in no small part to its growing golfing industry. An increasing number of high-end golf courses, as well as the formation of the Ho Chi Minh Golf Trail (a collaboration between seven of the country’s top courses) have earned the country welcome exposure in over 100 international publications and catapulted Vietnam, according to Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Chu, General Secretary of the Vietnam Golf Association, into “the big time”. The icing on the golfing cake, however, was the naming of the country by the International Association of Golf Travel Operators (IAGTO) as its 2007 ‘Undiscovered Golf Destination of the Year’ earlier this month. At present, there are about 16 golf courses operating in the country, with more than 30 projects at some stage of construction.

Vietnam has experienced a surge in popularity this year, and international travellers’ love affair with golf is largely responsible for Vietnam’s 48th place ranking among the New York Times’ 53 hottest destinations for 2008. Courses especially singled out by the paper include the Dalat Palace Golf Club, Ocean Dunes Golf Club and the Montgomerie Links – Vietnam. The country’s tropical climate, thousand-mile coastline and reasonable cost of living have all encouraged a growth in the number of international arrivals to Vietnam, up from 250,000 in 1990, to around 4 to 4.5 million in 2007.

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