Hong Kong welcomes first Guangdong yachts under new scheme

HONG KONG, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- A maiden voyage ceremony for southbound travel of yachts from Guangdong province was held on Friday in Hong Kong, marking the official implementation of a new scheme to facilitate yachts travelling between Hong Kong and Guangdong.

Speaking at the ceremony, Michael Wong Wai-lun, acting financial secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, said that Hong Kong is actively developing into a yachting hub in Asia and the HKSAR government is implementing various measures to promote the yacht economy.

Wong said that the HKSAR government is fully committed to promoting the construction of four new yacht clubs at the airport, Lamma Island, Aberdeen, and Hung Hom, which will provide a total of more than 1,100 berths.

He said that both the northbound travel of yachts from Hong Kong and southbound yachts from Guangdong are mutually beneficial, adding that he believed this will carve out a brand-new sea passage for residents and tourists between the two regions.

The move follows the rollout of northbound travel of yachts from Hong Kong in June and a bilateral framework signed in September, which established a standardized mechanism to streamline cross-boundary clearance for Guangdong yacht owners.