HÀ NỘI — The Việt Nam Golf Tourism Association (VGTA) was officially founded yesterday with the aim of boosting the national golf tourism industry.

The VGTA gathers State authorities, enterprises, investors and managers of golf courses nationwide.

The Việt Nam Tourism Association (VITA) has established the VGTA to attract more golf tourists to Việt Nam and build a national golf tourism brand, according to Vũ Thế Bình, vice chairman of the VITA.

Tourists who come to Việt Nam to play golf usually spend more for high-end services and contribute significantly to the tourism industry.

“Việt Nam has a great potential to develop golf tourism, however we lack experience,” he said.

“We expect that with Tourism Ambassador Greg Norman, a world class golfer, tourists who want to play golf will learn more about Việt Nam,” he said.

Bình also revealed that Japan and South Korea are the two markets which send the most golfers to Việt Nam. Last year, Việt Nam received 3.5 million and 800,000 tourists from Korean and Japan, respectively.

Ngô Hoài Chung, vice chairman of the Việt Nam Tourism Administration (VNAT), said with the establishment of the VGTA, he expected more tourists and golfers will come to Việt Nam and the country will become known as a premier destination for golf.

On the same day, the VITA also introduced a Council of Training Studies in Tourism. The council gathered experts in tourism and lecturers at universities. They will supervise and train the human resources of the tourism industry. Travel agents, companies and enterprises can receive professional training for their staff through the council. —  VNS