Danang, Vietnam: A record 220 golf tour operators from 36 countries attended International Association of Golf Tour Operators’ (IAGTO) 6th annual Asia Golf Tourism Convention (AGTC). Also present were 600 delegates from golf destinations throughout the Asia Pacific region.
For the first time, the event included a three-hour Golf Tourism Forum at which Peter Walton, IAGTO’s Chief Executive, presented a Golf Tourism Strategy for Vietnam’s Danang Golf Coast for implementation by Danang’s Department of Tourism.
Walton said: “Vietnam was voted IAGTO Undiscovered Golf Destination of the Year by golf travel writers back in 2008 and just last year Established Golf Destination for the Asia Pacific by our golf tour operators, which demonstrates the progress made by the country’s golf destinations over the past decade.
“With a cluster of four courses along the Danang Golf Coast and two more due to be opened over the next couple of years, we incorporated a Golf Tourism Forum into the event to ensure that the conditions could be laid down for sustainable growth over a five-year period.
“Currently, 60% of our 643 golf tour operator members sell golf vacations to and within Asia, but only 180 (28%) feature, promote and sell Vietnam. As a direct result of staging AGTC in Danang, we expect at least a further 50 operators to begin pro-actively selling Vietnam in the coming months.”