Shore facilities ‘key to unlocking Hong Kong yacht tourism potential’ The success of yacht tourism in Hong Kong partly depends on the availability of shoreside facilities, an industry leader has said, as he called the current lack of convenient landing points for passengers a major obstacle to maximising spending. Lawrence Chow, chairman of the Hong Kong Boating Industry Association, told a radio show on Tuesday that the government’s plan to allow visiting yachts to anchor freely in five designated areas was a “good start” and a move in the right direction. He noted that the industry strongly supported the relaxation of entry requirements, which previously demanded that visiting yachts reserve a spot at a private club or terminal. “Previously, we essentially had no capacity at the yacht clubs, which meant many captains and yachts were unable to enter Hong Kong because they lacked a place to berth,” Chow said. “The new freedom to anchor will make it easier and encourage more people to bring their vessels to Hong Kong.” In his annual policy address last month, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu outlined plans to develop Hong Kong’s yacht tourism. The plans include 1,100 new government berthing spaces at Lamma Quarry, the Aberdeen Typhoon Shelter expansion, Hung Hom waterfront and Airport City, with the latter able to accommodate superyachts of up to 80 metres (262.5 feet). Entrance procedures would also be simplified, along with cooperation with Greater Bay Area authorities to develop yacht tourism. Speaking to local media on Monday, Director of Marine Wong Sai-fat said the government had also selected five additional areas to serve as low-cost, flexible anchorage zones for visiting yachts, including Stanley Bay, Tai Tam Bay, Repulse Bay, Tai O and Three Fathoms Cove. But Chow said that adding berths alone was not enough and that the development of shoreside facilities was a missing link. He also said that it was currently difficult to get passengers ashore to maximise the economic benefits of tourism development. “Hong Kong has many public piers, but they are often unsuitable for yacht passengers to disembark and embark easily,” he said. Chow urged the government to prioritise the construction of more suitable mooring facilities in the specified areas, suggesting simple infrastructure, such as long floating pontoons where yachts could secure themselves. Once ashore, basic amenities such as bathrooms and rubbish collection points should be available to facilitate longer visits, he added. The chairman also disagreed with the government’s view that berthing supply was “locally strained, but overall sufficient”, meaning there was high demand in popular areas. “Hei Ling Chau, for example, nobody goes there because it’s too far,” he said, noting that the area was virtually unused due to its impracticality. He expressed hope that the planned projects would ease the berthing shortage in the coming years. Legislative Council member Benson Luk Hon-man also told the same radio show that the new free-anchorage policy for visiting yachts represented only the first phase of developing Hong Kong’s yacht economy. He proposed that the government adopt a comprehensive “three-step approach”, focusing next on restructuring the financing and development models for yacht clubs and leveraging the city’s tax advantages to strengthen its position in the yacht trading market, particularly in the Greater Bay Area. https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3328105/shore-facilities-key-unlocking-hong-kong-yacht-tourism-potential-industry-leaders (ICE HONG KONG)

Fonte notizia: South China Morning Post