SANYA, January 16. /TASS/. Hainan's yachting industry registered 139 new pleasure boats last year, up 28% from the same period last year. According to the Nanguo Dushibao newspaper, the total number reached 641.
"Thanks to the various support from the authorities, a yacht charter business emerged in Sanya, it has been integrated into various maritime projects," a representative of the Sanya Yachting Association was quoted as saying. "Cruise prices are becoming more democratic, this is attracting more and more ordinary people."
According to official data, over the three days of the New Year holidays in China (January 1-3), more than 10,000 tourists more than 1,000 times went on pleasure boats departed from Sanya's ports.
In 2019, owners and lessees of yachts in Sanya made about 100 thousand exits to the sea, organizing trips for more than 780 thousand people. In the past year, despite the consequences of the pandemic, the industry has been actively developing. From January to November 2020, tourists made more than 80,000 exits to the sea, more than 550,000 people went on trips.
On July 9 2020, China's General Customs Administration ordered the release of yacht owners intending to visit Hainan and their agents from providing guarantee fees to the customs department. Previously, their volume, depending on the size and class of the yacht, ranged from 1 million to 100 million yuan (from $ 145,000 to $ 14.5 million). This measure aims to increase the attractiveness of Hainan for cruise tourists.
The Chinese authorities plan to turn Hainan into a center for yacht tourism and an international cruise ship trading base. Sanya is currently considering the possibility of providing mortgage services for the development of the yacht trade.