New | China Rendez-Vous boat show in push to make yachting 'cool' among China's super rich
It's still an unfamiliar pastime for China's super-rich, but Hainan expo is set to change that
What's stopping a super-rich Chinese from buying a super yacht? Mainly a poor understanding of yachting in China, according to one luxury-yacht maker.
"The slowing economy [does affect our sales], but it's the lack of knowledge of the value of yachting that's our biggest enemy in China," said Alessandro Tirelli, sales director of Italian luxury-yacht maker Ferretti Group.
Ferretti is one of many exhibitors at the country's largest boat show, the China Rendez-Vous, in Sanya, Hainan province, which ends on Monday. It is displaying eight vessels up to 30 metres long.
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A super yacht, defined as a luxury boat longer than 24 metres, typically cost more than 20 million yuan (HK$24 million).
"Chinese people travel a lot today. They go to Paris, London, but they rarely go to the Mediterranean or other places where yachting is considered a way of life. So we have to show it to our customers," Tirelli said.
In Hong Kong, Ferretti would invite Chinese customers and their families on a one-day tour, giving them a taste of the privacy and relaxation they could enjoy out at sea, he said.