HAIKOU /China/, December 22. /TASS/. The resort city of Sanya in South China's Hainan province is stepping up efforts to create a developed international yacht port, the Hainan Daily reported.

Local authorities noted that by 2025 specially equipped harbors will be able to house a lot more sailing and speedboats, which will carry up to 5 thousand people a year. The government has set a key goal: to create a complex of several harbors in Sanya, which will become the "yachting capital of the Asia-Pacific region."

The local government plans to simultaneously develop several spheres related to the consumer sector to stimulate growth in this area. A multi-tiered and diversified market structure is expected to make Hainan's yachting business more competitive and more attractive to investors.

"There are many stores, open-air dance floors, restaurants and hotels near the port, and there is even an ice-skating rink. It's the busiest place in Sanya," the article quoted skipper Huang Yasai as saying. Yasai provides professional services to those in need of a boat captain.

Over the past few decades, he said, the Sanya’s coast has been completely transformed. The authorities have ensured the construction of modern infrastructure, which allowed the city to adapt for private and recreational boats as well as large cruise ships. The port is expected to continue to actively develop in the coming years, will offer a lot of new jobs and improve the well-being of locals.

City on the southern coast of Hainan

Sanya is China's leading resort, and, according to the 2021 census, it has more than 1 million residents. The average annual temperature in this city is 25.4 degrees Celsius, and the coastline is more than 200 kilometers long. There are 19 bays in the adjacent water area and about 40 islands suitable for recreational activities. All this allows the local administration to successfully develop yacht and leisure tourism.

According to the Hainan Daily, there were only eight yachts in Sanya in 2006, and by 2013 there were already over 240. Dozens of companies specializing in the yachting business as well as several specialized clubs have settled in the city.