Kings' Island Golf Club - Ideal Sport, Diplomatic Place for Businessmen and Golfers

Kings' Island is considered as one of the most beautiful golf course in Southeast Asia. ViB Forum interviewed Nguyen Thi Nga, general director of the King Valley Company about the company’s business activities and its investment in the golf course and tourism.

What do you think about your company’s business effectiveness last year?

It is possible to say that 2004 was a busy and successful year for our company. We received 36,678 guests, including 33,136 foreigners and 3,542 Vietnamese, up by 11 per cent against 2003. Also, we successfully hosted three major tournaments, including the Amateur, the Fall Classic and Championship. At the same time, the first five-star golf course in Vietnam, Mountain View, was completed and began to operate. Alongside the Lakeside golf course, which was completed in 1993, Kings’ Island has become the first 36-hole golf course operating in northern Vietnam. Besides the golf course which has met the international standard, we continue to invest in developing an eco-tourist site, building hotels and luxurious villas. The trademark of Kings’ Island has been affirmed in Vietnam and we have been mentioned in tourist guidebooks in the US and Australia. However, our long-term target is to build a small city for sports, entertainment and resort services, attracting visitors and golfers.

The King Valley is located within an eco-tourist complex in Ha Tay province. At present, more companies and corporations in Vietnam and from foreign countries have promoted their investment in the ‘non-smoke’ industry. What do you think about your company’s competitiveness in the local tourism market?

In general, it is a good sign as more companies and corporations have promoted their investment in tourism development. This will create a favourable environment for this industry to develop more rapidly in Vietnam. To invest in the building of a five-starred golf course on such a large area as the Dong Mo golf course needs a huge capital amount with a long-term development strategy. In the present context, the Kings’ Island has many advantages as it is located 45 kilometres from Hanoi with magnificent landscapes, surrounded by 1,500 hectares of water surfaces. It is considered as one of the most beautiful golf courses in Southeast Asia. Furthermore, we have thousands of regular members. We have leading foreign experts and professional staff members. This has helped build up our prestige among our customers.

What do you think your company will have to do to develop a strong and sustainable trademark for the Kings’ Island golf course?

To build a strong and sustainable golf course, the King Valley Company has applied modern marketing methods. Accordingly, each staff member, who represents the company’s image, should be a master of foreign languages and be familiar with the tradition and customs of Vietnam and other countries, and international practice. We offer our customers convenient services with specific cultural features. The golf course business is not simply to offer tourism services as customers are very important people, diplomats and investors. Therefore, to be successful, a golf course should act as an ideal sport, diplomatic and investment environment.

Reported by Khanh Thuong