Hong Kong in talks with Guangzhou to ease maritime travel for private yachts
Tourism chief Rosanna Law says city making ‘first move’ with mainland counterparts to attract more high-spending maritime tourists
Hong Kong is seeking to establish a cross-border individual travel scheme for yachts, with discussions under way with Guangzhou counterparts to ease maritime travel for private vessels as part of a wider effort to create a high-end “yacht economy”.
Transport and logistics chief Mable Chan told a Legislative Council panel on Monday that the Marine Department was actively coordinating with mainland Chinese authorities on measures for both northbound and southbound yachts.
“The Marine Department will actively coordinate efforts to develop a yacht economy,” Chan said. “It will relax the relevant requirements and roll out three facilitation measures to attract more yachts to come to Hong Kong.
“Also, the Marine Department is currently working with the Guangzhou Maritime Safety Administration to roll out measures on the northbound travel of yachts from Hong Kong and the southbound travel for yachts from the mainland.”
The initiative, which was part of Chief Executive John Lee’s 2025 policy address, aims to leverage the city’s extensive coastline and islands to attract more high-spending maritime tourists by relaxing regulations and rolling out new technology.
Under one of the measures fleshed out in the policy address, the government will “promote the systemic development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau individual travel scheme for yachts, and cooperate with the Guangdong provincial government on facilitation measures for the northbound travel of yachts from Hong Kong and southbound travel for yachts from the mainland”.