Yacht tourism industry booms in Sanya

With the improvement of people's living standards and as tourism consumption continues to be upgraded, yacht tourism has gradually become a major feature of Sanya's tourism economy.

Sanya is a suitable place to develop yacht tourism with its unique natural advantages of having a warm climate and clear seas, Zuo Zhiyong, deputy secretary-general of the Sanya Yacht and Sailing Association said. Yachts can be rented by the hour or the day, and the rental prices of yachts have been greatly reduced, making it possible for common tourists to enjoy yachting, which was enjoyed by mostly wealthy tourists in the past.

In recent years, Sanya has continuously enriched its yacht tourism products. As a result, yacht rentals have increased at an annual rate of 30 percent every year since 2019. In the first half of 2021, there have been 634,000 customers that rented yachts 101,000 times, which is an increase of 157.7 percent and 146.7 percent respectively from the same period in 2020.

According to the Sanya maritime safety administration, there were 814 yachts in Sanya in the first half of this year, with 144 newly registered yachts, a year-on-year increase of 220 percent compared to that in 2020. There were 63 imported yachts, accounting for 43.8 percent of the total, 81 homemade yachts, which accounted for 56.2 percent of the total, and two newly registered "zero-tariff" yachts.

Sanya has built the Sanya Yacht Tourism Center, and is promoting the online operations of a comprehensive yacht tourism service platform. In the future, the city plans on constructing a yacht industry reform and development innovation pilot zone in the Times Coast and Nanbianhai Area, as well as building an international yacht trading and display center.

Sanya will use opportunities brought by the yacht industry to create high-quality and efficient primary and secondary yacht trading markets, and strive to exceed 2 billion yuan ($307.5 million) in trade volume by 2023.

Zuo said that promoting the integration of the tourism and yacht industry will be an important way to promote the construction of the international tourism consumption center in Hainan province.