South Korean golfers might save Kaohsiung’s tourism industry.

In seeking to bolster weak visitor numbers after this summer’s gas explosion, the Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau embarked on a new relationship with Mode Tour, the second largest South Korean travel agency that allow travel groups to play in golf tournaments throughout Asia.

The two parties “teed off” in co-hosting the Taiwan Cup Golf Tournament in Greater Kaohsiung November 8.

The southern city’s amiable weather and well-priced facilities create prime golfing conditions, according to agency president Hung Ki-chung.

Kaohsiung will join the like of Japan and the Philippines in hosting this apparently very popular vacation: an estimated 3.5 million South Koreans competed overseas last year. 

Of the 20,000 South Koreans who played golf in Taiwan last year, 70 percent of them did so in Kaohsiung.

According to Bureau statistics, over 350,000 South Koreans traveled to Taiwan last year, up 36 percent from 2012. As of September, the number has climbed over 380,000 and is expected to reach half a million by the year’s end.

The affiliation with Mode Tour will add more flights between Kaohsiung and South Korea.

Photo via Wikimedia commons