The 6^th annual Asia Golf Tourism Convention (AGTC 2017) will take place in Da Nang between 7 and 13 May.  It is the premier golf travel event in the Asia-Pacific region and combines a golf tour with tourism meetings.

Fairway and green on the Ba Na Hills course

This information was released at a meeting on Tuesday between some of the city leaders and Mr Peter Walton who is the Chief Executive & Founder of the International Association of Golf Tourism Operators (IAGTO).

AGTC 2017 will be attended by a total of over 650 tour operators, golf course managers, and tourism managers, plus representatives from travel, airline and media agencies, from 36 countries and territories in the Asia-Pacific region.  The event will be a good opportunity for buyers and sellers to exchange information about tourism services, destinations, hospitality and conferences relating to the golf tourism industry.

This continent-level event will feature a 3-day golf tourism conference and an international seminar about the values of Da Nang’s golf tourism. 

According to the IAGTO website, AGTC 2017 will combine 11 hours of one-on-one meetings between buyers and sellers with great networking opportunities, including a welcome reception, business lunches and a golf tournament.

Famtrip tours to the golf courses and attractions in Da Nang and Hoi An will be organised for a total of 165 representatives from travel agencies which specialise in golf tours in Asia, Australasia and Europe.

Mr Walton affirmed that the spending by a golf tourist is usually 6 times higher than a conventional tourist because the majority of golfers are businesspeople and investors.  In particular, there is even distribution of the number of golf tourists to a certain destination during the year, thereby helping ensure the sustainable growth of the tourism sector at that locality.  

Municipal People’s Committee (PC) Chairman Huynh Duc Tho remarked that AGTC 2017 is a great opportunity for Da Nang to promote the development of the city’s high-quality tourism products, and it will help the local business community and local residents to have closer access to golf.  Furthermore, this continent-level event will advertise the city’s tourism brand name and its special cultural values to international friends, especially prestigious travel agencies in the Asia-Pacific region.

The golf tourism event will be a prelude to the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week in November, thereby allowing local authorities  a chance to check the quality of the local infrastructure system and tourism services prior to the APEC event.

Also at the meeting, Chairman Tho agreed with the establishment of the municipal organising board for AGTC 2017 which will be headed by municipal PC Vice Chairman Dang Viet Dung.

To date, IAGTO has spent around 2.5 billion VND on publicising the upcoming event.