HCMC – Twenty golfers from Singapore embarked on a three-day golf tour to the Tan Son Nhat golf course in HCMC, the first of its kind in the city, from March 1.

The golfers are set to participate in a Vietnam-Singapore friendship golf tournament, the local media reported.

The golfers, who are Singaporean business executives, have also enjoyed a ride on an open-top double-decker bus for sightseeing in HCMC and tried the city’s specialties.

Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa, director of the HCMC Department of Tourism, said at a ceremony to launch HCMC golf tours on February 28 that the department would work closely with the Vietnam Golf Association to organize professional golf competitions for local and international golfers.

Apart from golf tournaments, the municipal department will offer sightseeing programs to make golf tours more attractive to golfers, contributing to introducing HCMC’s tourist sites among foreign visitors and developing the city’s tourism, said Hoa.

Golf tourists tend to visit a place and return to it several times, Hoa said, adding that in addition to golfing fees, they also spend on hotel and restaurant services.

As such, golf tourism is expected to diversify tourism products in the city, increase the competitiveness of HCMC’s tourism and lure high-income earners.

Vietnam has some 100,000 golfers and 100 operational golf courses, with 32 meeting five-star international standards. The country has been selected as the world’s best golf destination for several years by the World Golf Awards, according to the Vietnam Golf Association.

HCMC alone is home to two big golf courts, Tan Son Nhat and Thu Duc.