Vietnam golf tourism aims for 1 billion USD in revenue

Golf tourism is emerging as a bright spot in Vietnam's tourism industry, contributing increasingly to the industry's total revenue.

According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, in 2022, revenue from golf tourism reached 600 million USD and is expected to reach 1 billion USD by 2025 - equivalent to about 8-10% of total national tourism revenue.

With more than 80 international standard golf courses, this type is identified as a key product to attract high-end customers, contributing to raising the position of Vietnamese tourism on the world map.

Asia's top golf tourism destination

Vietnam is known as the “golf paradise” of Asia thanks to its diverse terrain, long coastline with world-famous beautiful beaches, and majestic mountain ranges. The temperate tropical climate and abundant sunshine almost all year round create ideal conditions for the development of unique golf courses, from romantic ocean-facing courses to courses built on poetic hills, attracting all golfers at home and abroad.

Currently, Vietnam has more than 80 international standard 18-hole golf courses stretching from North to South, each golf course offers a unique experience and irresistible appeal.

Famous courses such as The Bluffs Grand Ho Tram Strip - once ranked in the top 100 best golf courses in the world, Laguna Lang Co, Hoiana Shores Golf Club or Ba Na Hills Golf Club have become familiar destinations for millions of international golfers every year. Through that, Vietnam not only affirms its position but also raises the level of golf on the world map.

According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, golf tourism is one of the fastest growing segments, with tourist spending six times higher than that of regular tourists. Not only does it bring great economic value, golf tourism also helps to elevate the image of Vietnamese tourism, aiming at a high-end and sustainable market.

The reputation of Vietnamese golf has been recognized through a series of prestigious international awards.

For eight consecutive years (2017–2024), Vietnam has been honored by the World Golf Association (WGA) as “Asia’s Leading Golf Destination,” and has twice been awarded the title of “World’s Best Golf Destination” in 2019 and 2021. The capital city of Hanoi has also put its name on the global golf map when it was consecutively named “World’s Best Golf Destination City” in 2023 and 2024.

Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism Nguyen Trung Khanh said that achieving prestigious awards shows the great potential and clear competitive advantage of Vietnam's golf tourism. Vietnam is fully capable of organizing international golf tournaments, meeting the requirements of high-end customers, including demanding markets.

Golf tourism is not only a high-class sport but also the core driving the development of a high-class tourism ecosystem - from infrastructure, hotels, accommodation to 5-star cuisine and services. This is one of the strategic product development orientations of the Vietnamese tourism industry in the coming period, targeting international tourist markets from: Korea, Japan, America, Europe, the Middle East...

Contributing to the strategy of promoting Vietnam golf tourism, in July 2025, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism appointed world golf legend Gregory John Norman (Greg Norman) as Vietnam Tourism Ambassador for the 2025-2030 term.

According to Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Ho An Phong, with his global influence, Mr. Greg Norman will be a worthy representative, contributing to bringing the image of Vietnam - especially golf tourism - closer to the world.

During his new term, the ambassador will participate in many international promotional activities, focusing on attracting high-end visitors to Vietnam from 2025 and the following years.

Need to diversify golf tourism products

Not only is Vietnam a leading golf destination in Asia, it is also witnessing a strong transformation from localities in investing, developing and diversifying golf tourism products. Notable among them is Hanoi - the political, economic and cultural center of the country - rising to become a bright spot on the national golf map.

Within a radius of 60km from the center of Hanoi, there are currently more than 10 international standard golf courses, notably BRG Legend Hill, Sky Lake, Van Tri, FLC Golf Club Hanoi or Long Bien Golf Course - the only 27-hole golf course located within the city limits.

Not only investing in the quality of the field, Hanoi also develops a chain of accompanying services such as high-class resorts, diverse cuisine and tours combining cultural-historical-golf exploration.

Experiences such as “playing golf - exploring the old town - enjoying street food - relaxing at the spa” are popular choices for many high-end tourists.

Not only Hanoi, the provinces in the Central Highlands and Central Coast are also actively exploiting the potential of golf tourism.

After expanding its administrative boundaries, Gia Lai province has formed a tourism space linking "from the blue sea to the great forest," creating conditions for the development of golf products combining ecology and culture.

Gia Lai Province (new) is currently hosting the 2025 National Golf Championship - VinFast Cup at FLC Golf Links Quy Nhon, considering this a springboard to elevate the golf destination in the region.

According to Mr. Nguyen Pham Kien Trung, Permanent Vice President of Binh Dinh Tourism Association (Gia Lai province), the trend of combining golf with tourism is creating a stable flow of high-class visitors, bringing great economic value, and at the same time promoting investment attraction. Recently, a Korean enterprise proposed to build two international golf resorts in Gia Lai with a total area of 550 hectares and an investment capital of 60 million USD.

In Dak Lak, the provincial People's Committee is also considering a golf course and villa project at Ea Kao Lake (110ha), hoping to create a new urban area associated with high-end sports and resort tourism.

However, for golf tourism to truly become a key product, Vietnam still has a lot to do.

According to Deputy Director of the Vietnam National Tourism Administration Ha Van Sieu, golf tourism still lacks products connecting cultural and natural experiences, is still separate from traditional tours and has not yet promoted the advantages of combining with MICE tourism or long-term resorts.

In addition, the connection between travel agencies and golf courses is still weak, lacking synchronization in building a service ecosystem. Visitors come mainly to play golf, and are rarely introduced to products with local identity.

To solve this problem, tourism experts believe that there needs to be an alliance of golf businesses to build golf tourism brands for each locality, developing synchronous, professional and differentiated services.

Vietnam needs to organize more international golf tournaments, gathering famous golfers to effectively promote destinations on a global scale, and at the same time, it needs to develop specialized tours such as attaching high-end services such as Golf-Spa-Fine Dining (high-class cuisine) for business travelers; Golf-Culture-Craft Village products to increase the depth of experience and attract groups of guests who love local identity.

According to the Vietnam tourism development strategy to 2030, golf tourism is one of the key products to enhance national competitiveness, target high-end tourist markets and develop sustainably. With natural advantages, gradually improving infrastructure and the participation of the entire tourism-sports-investment industry, Vietnam golf tourism is facing the opportunity to make a breakthrough to affirm its position on the world golf map.

However, to reach the sustainable goal, the industry needs a long-term strategy, with the development of diverse products in the golf tourism ecosystem, focusing on high-class experiences for high-end customers to elevate the position and brand of Vietnam on the regional and international tourism map./.

(Vietnam News Agency/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/du-lich-golf-viet-nam-huong-toi-doanh-thu-1-ty-usd-post1056556.vnp