Topic 1: Explore the Implementation Path of Yacht Development Based on the Latest Market Trends and Issues
(I) Core Recommendations
Learn from mature cases such as Sanya (yacht tourism), Qingdao (sailing sports), and Shenzhen (yacht business), and refer to the policies and management models of Hong Kong and Singapore to optimize the local yacht industry development framework.
Activate yacht financial attributes: improve the full-process services including evaluation, mortgage, transaction, modification, and inspection, and extend the consumption model from “car financing” and “housing financing” to “yacht financing”.
Focus on “quality improvement, innovation-driven development, and brand building” to promote the industry’s upgrade from “pursuing excellence” to “strengthening and expanding”.
Simplify the application and approval process for yacht club projects: adapt and simplify commercial port management processes to suit yacht club projects and release the vitality of market entities.
Reduce the cost and threshold of yacht use: improve the convenience of berthing, navigation, inspection and other links, and activate market circulation value and consumption potential.
(II) Analysis of the Latest Market Trends
1. Policies and Market Scale
National level: The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and four other ministries issued the “Implementation Opinions on Accelerating the Development of Cruise and Yacht Equipment and Industry”, clarifying the establishment of a preliminary industrial system by 2025.
Local level: Hainan Free Trade Port’s “zero-tariff” policy reduces import costs by 30%, and the entire industrial chain of “manufacturing – sales – operation” in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area accounts for 35% of the national total.
Market growth rate: The global yacht market grows at an annual rate of 5%-7%, while the Chinese market reaches 18.7%. Consumers aged 30-45 contribute 65% of consumption growth, and buyers under 40 account for over 60%. Demand has shifted from “status symbol” to “experience first”.
2. Technological Innovation and Product Upgrade
New materials: Carbon fiber vacuum infusion technology reduces weight by 50% (e.g., SAY 52 yacht), and nano-reinforcement technology increases hull strength by 30% (e.g., Sanlorenzo SX120).
New energy: BYD’s electric yachts have a range exceeding 200 nautical miles, Toyota’s hydrogen-powered ships take only 15 minutes to refuel, and Volvo’s hybrid system achieves high efficiency and low emissions.
Intelligence: Yachts are equipped with automatic navigation systems, and AI control systems reduce operational error rates by 90%.
3. Industrial Ecology and Business Models
Industrial chain: Digital twin technology shortens the R&D cycle, and industrial clusters have formed in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the Yangtze River Delta, etc.
Sharing economy (Meituan Yachts, Didi Sailing) lowers the threshold, and the rental market scale exceeds 3.8 billion yuan.
Cross-border integration: In 2023, Hainan recorded 161,100 yacht voyages (a year-on-year increase of 67.22%), and the number of tourists participating in “yacht + cultural tourism” exceeded 1.079 million (a year-on-year increase of 82.84%).
(III) Sorting Out Core Issues
High policy thresholds: Complex application and approval for yacht marinas, lack of distinction between yacht management and commercial ship management, and insufficient convenience in licensing and maritime services.
Weak financial attributes: Imperfect supporting services such as evaluation and mortgage, unpopular “yacht financing” model, and many consumption restrictions.
Insufficient brand competitiveness: Obvious product homogenization, scarcity of original designs and high-end brands, and a large gap in industrial scale with the international level.
Low approval efficiency: The approval process for yacht club projects is not adapted to that of commercial ports, resulting in high cross-departmental coordination costs.
(IV) Key Implementation Paths
Policy relaxation: Establish a special yacht management mechanism, distinguish regulatory standards between yachts and commercial ships, and simplify the processes of marina approval, licensing, and maritime services.
Financial activation: Cooperate with financial institutions to launch yacht installment and mortgage products, introduce third-party evaluation institutions, and unblock the closed loop of “transaction – registration – circulation”.
Brand upgrading: Support local enterprises in original design, host international yacht exhibitions (e.g., 2025 Asia Yacht Show), and cultivate 3-5 internationally competitive brands.
Approval optimization: Formulate a simplified approval list for yacht club projects, establish a cross-departmental “one-stop” service window, and shorten the project landing cycle.
Topic 2: Promote the Integration of Yachts and Marine Cultural Tourism
(I) Core Recommendations
Focus on marine cultural tourism, promote the linkage of yachts with marinas, yacht clubs, waters, routes, and scenic spots, and build an “entire industrial chain consumption ecology”.
Learn from the experience of cities such as Sanya, Qingdao, and Xiamen, break through the single “private exclusive” model, expand diversified consumption scenarios such as rental and sharing, and realize the transformation from “one-time consumption to repeat consumption”.
(II) Core Barriers to Integration
Barrier Category Specific Performance
Policy and Regulatory Barriers Insufficient opening of waters, complex approval for cross-regional navigation, general passenger capacity limit of 12 people (only Hainan relaxed it to 26 people), and difficult cross-departmental coordination.
Infrastructure Barriers Scarcity of public yacht marinas, comprehensive supply stations (refueling/water supply), and maintenance bases, with prominent problems of “difficulty in berthing and maintenance”.
Product and Market Barriers Homogeneous business formats (focused on sightseeing), dominated by high-end rentals, lack of mass consumption products, and low repeat consumption rate.
Industrial Ecology Barriers Upstream and downstream enterprises are “small, scattered, and weak”, shortage of compound talents in maritime services and cultural tourism planning, and insufficient financial and insurance support.
(III) In-depth Integration Paths
Business format innovation: Develop themed products such as “yacht + sea fishing”, “yacht + island hopping”, and “yacht + marine ranch”, and create “Maritime Silk Road cultural routes” and “fisherman experience routes” combined with local culture.
Consumption expansion: Promote mass models such as time-sharing rental and shared yacht experience, lower the price of small and medium-sized yachts to the range of 500,000-1 million yuan, and attract the middle-class consumer group.
Infrastructure supplement: Plan and construct public yacht marinas and comprehensive supply centers, and layout integrated “berthing – maintenance – service” bases at coastal tourism nodes.
Industrial linkage: Cooperate with hotels, catering, and cultural and creative enterprises to launch “yacht cultural tourism packages”, host sailing events and marina open days, and cultivate mass maritime culture.
Topic 3: Promote the Upgrade of the Yacht Industry Chain towards Greenization and Intelligence
(I) Core Recommendations
Focus on “greenization and intelligence” as the core direction, prioritize the development of new energy power such as electric energy, hydrogen energy, methanol, and hybrid power, break through technologies such as intelligent control systems and automatic navigation, build a “low-consumption, ecological, and efficient” industrial chain system, and seize the commanding heights of international yacht industry competition.
(II) Key Upgrade Directions
1. Breakthrough in Green Power
Short-term: Expand the application of electric yachts (e.g., BYD Blade Battery technology), promote the popularization of hybrid systems (Volvo Penta IPS platform), and reduce dependence on traditional fossil fuels.
Long-term: Accelerate the sea trial of hydrogen fuel cell yachts, tackle methanol power storage and safety technologies, and achieve a market penetration rate of new energy yachts exceeding 50% by 2030.
2. Empowerment by Intelligent Technologies
Navigation intelligence: Promote high-precision positioning, autonomous obstacle avoidance, and intelligent route planning systems, and realize full coverage of automatic navigation functions for small and medium-sized yachts by 2027.
Management digitalization: Apply blockchain technology to realize the whole-life cycle management of yachts from “design – manufacturing – operation – scrapping”, and use AI systems to real-time optimize power distribution and energy consumption.
3. Industrial Chain Coordination
Upstream: Focus on core materials such as carbon fiber and nano-composite materials, improve the localization rate, and break through high-end yacht design and core component manufacturing technologies.
Downstream: Establish a “new energy yacht testing center” and an “intelligent operation and maintenance platform”, improve supporting services such as maintenance, upkeep, and recycling, and form a “manufacturing – service” closed loop.
Topic 4: Strengthen Exchange and Cooperation in the Yacht Industry among Coastal Cities
(I) Core Recommendations
Following the logic of “point (single city) – line (route linkage) – area (regional coordination)”, promote in-depth cooperation among coastal cities in policies, resources, markets, standards, etc., incubate cross-regional new business formats and consumption products, and enhance the overall value of the yacht industry.
(II) Cooperation Implementation Paths
Establish a cooperation mechanism: Set up the “National Coastal Cities Yacht Industry Alliance”, hold regular exchange meetings, and uniformly sort out policy pain points and cooperation needs.
Resource sharing and linkage: Share marina berths, route resources, and maintenance bases, establish a “cross-city yacht berthing all-in-one card”, and reduce cross-regional operation costs.
Joint market cultivation: Co-design “cross-city yacht cultural tourism routes” (e.g., Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao – Yangtze River Delta linkage routes), co-host national yacht events and exhibitions, and expand the consumer market.
Standard unification and connection: Coordinate yacht inspection, crew qualification, and safety supervision standards among various cities, and promote “one-place certification, national recognition” to reduce cross-regional barriers.
Topic 5: Expand and Improve the Quality of Yacht Free Travel in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area
(I) Core Recommendations
Relying on the geographical and economic advantages of the Greater Bay Area, focus on “eliminating policy barriers, improving infrastructure supporting facilities, and unifying technical standards”, promote the upgrade of yacht free travel from “pilot” to “full implementation”, activate the regional yacht consumer market, and drive the development of related industries.
(II) Core Barriers to Free Travel
Policy and regulatory barriers: Difficult coordination among multiple departments (maritime, customs, border defense, quarantine), Hong Kong and Macao yachts are declared as foreign merchant ships, the approval process is complex, the handling fee for a single entry-exit is about 10,000 yuan, and the “guarantee-free” policy has not been implemented.
Infrastructure barriers: Hong Kong has a shortage of over 8,000 berths (only more than 4,000 available), Guangzhou only designates the Nansha Yacht Club Marina, Dongguan, Foshan, and Zhongshan have no designated marinas, and supporting facilities for refueling and maintenance are insufficient.
Standard and talent barriers: The mutual recognition of yacht certificates and driver qualifications among Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao has not been fully realized, and there is a scarcity of compound talents who understand the laws and regulations of the three places.
(III) Implementation Paths for Expansion and Quality Improvement
1. Policy Innovation and Breakthrough
Simplify customs clearance: Implement “designated berthing and nearby joint inspection”, establish an electronic declaration system, and shorten the customs clearance time to within 30 minutes; implement the “guarantee-free” policy for compliant Hong Kong and Macao yachts.
System improvement: Issue the “Measures for the Administration of Yacht Free Travel in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area” and establish a joint meeting mechanism among the three places to unify regulatory standards.
2. Infrastructure Supplement
Berth construction: Hong Kong will build 600 new berths in former Lamma Island, Aberdeen, etc., and the airport “city project” will add 500 superyacht berths; Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Zhuhai will add public marinas, and Dongguan, Foshan, and Zhongshan will clearly designate berthing marinas.
Supporting upgrade: Build “yacht comprehensive service centers” along the coast and the three major river basins (Dongjiang, Xijiang, Beijiang), integrating berthing, refueling, maintenance, and catering functions.
3. Standard and Talent Coordination
Standard unification: Promote the mutual recognition of yacht licenses and driver qualifications among Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao, conduct technical comparison of certificates, and realize full-process mutual recognition by 2027.
Talent cultivation: Authorize mainland institutions to carry out training and examinations for Hong Kong and Macao yacht captains, and establish a “Greater Bay Area yacht talent pool”.
4. Safety and Market Guarantee
Safety supervision: Develop a yacht dynamic monitoring system interconnected among the three places (equipped with VHF and AIS), formulate the “Navigation Guidelines for Hong Kong and Macao Yachts”, and clarify the safety responsibilities of multiple departments.
Market cultivation: Launch high-quality products such as “Greater Bay Area island hopping tours” and “yacht + exhibitions”, undertake Hong Kong and Macao yacht maintenance business, and realize the scale of related industries exceeding 100 billion yuan by 2030.
(IV) Phased Goals
Stage Time Node Core Goals
Short-term Goal 2025-2026 Build 6 entry-exit ports (Nansha, Shekou, Jiuzhou Port, etc.), realize direct navigation of Hong Kong and Macao yachts to Zhuhai Jinwan, and put the dynamic monitoring system into use.
Medium-term Goal 2027 Have more than 2,500 berths and over 4,000 registered yachts, and realize the mutual recognition of licenses and personnel qualifications.
Long-term Goal 2030 Build a complete industrial chain ecology, create an important global yacht industry center, and realize “true free travel”.
Liu Honghui
November 5, 2025
