Most of Hainan's sixteen golf courses have entered off-season due to lack of golf enthusiasts, especially golfers from South Korea, managers of local golf courses said on Tuesday.

Lu Maohong, personnel manager of Yalong Bay Golf Club in Sanya, said because the weather is warming up, and considering the time and cost to travel to Hainan, most South Korean golf enthusiasts prefer playing golf in domestic golf courses.

In Hainan Donshan Golf Club, the number of golfers has dropped to 50 each day, comparing with 200 each day during last winter.

According to Air Traffic Control Center of Civil Aviation in Haikou, capital city of China's southernmost Hainan Island, the Korean Airlines Co. Ltd has also cancelled all chartered flights from Seoul to Haikou last Friday.

The flights used to bring South Korean golfers to Hainan during winter seasons.

The golf industry in Hainan depends on the tourism industry in a certain extent. There are only 2,000 local golf enthusiasts in Hainan, most golfers playing games in Hainan are tourists, especially tourists from South Korea.

Some 54,000 South Korean tourists visited Hainan last year, among which most came to play golf.

Besides, domestic golf enthusiasts from Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou also make up part of the group that play golf in Hainan.

Zou Guozheng, sales manager of one local golf club, said two thirds of domestic golfers prefer golf courses in Sanya, the southmost city of Hainan.

A survey released recently shows that golf courses in southern Hainan attract more golfers than courses in northern Hainan because of the better service and higher quality of the courses.

Based on past experience, the off-season of the golf industry in Hainan would continue until October.

Chen Yao, deputy director of the Hainan Provincial Tourism Bureau, said the off-season is mainly caused by seasonal reasons, suggesting Hainan government and local golf clubs work together in overcoming such problems.

Managers of the local golf clubs hope that Hainan government play a more active and efficient role in promoting the local golf industry together with tourism.

(Xinhua News Agency March 29, 2006)