Hainan-HK-Macao 'free flow of yachts' begins following first HK catamaran's entry in Sanya

A Hong Kong catamaran named DU that was carrying seven people entered Sanya on July 13, marking the official beginning of "free flow of yachts" between Hainan province and the two special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao.

The boat is the first of its kind to enter Sanya since the launch of the "Implementation Plan for the Hainan-Hong Kong-Macao Free Flow of Yachts in China (Hainan) Pilot Free Trade Zone".

The 70 foot sailing boat plans to embark on a 90-day free voyage in Hainan to explore the beautiful scenery, as well as the distinctive cultures and customs of the island province, according to Hainan Daily's report.  

Upon arrival, Sanya's government departments, including the customs, maritime bureau and frontier inspection station, carried out a joint inspection of the catamaran. The entire procedures were completed in about half an hour. 

"Sanya has a pleasant climate, beautiful environment, clear sea water, and convenient government services, which offer a good atmosphere for yachting," said Ye Zi, assistant captain of DU. He said that with the recently launched implementation plan, the time for the entry procedures for yachts was significantly cut by two thirds, offering great convenience for overseas yacht owners to embark on free travels in Hainan. 

Since the beginning of this year, Hainan has continued to roll out innovative policies and explore new mechanisms in the yacht sector, bringing a great boom to the province's yacht industry. In addition, the city of Sanya in Hainan has been comprehensively promoting the implementation of relevant policies, actively improving overseas yacht guarantees, as well as the facilitation measures of entry and exit approval to further enhance the opening up of Hainan's yacht industry.

Ye Kaizhong, deputy director of the Sanya tourism, culture, radio, television and sports bureau, said that the city is constantly improving the supporting services for yacht tourism. It has been actively building a series of pilot projects, such as the Sanya Yacht Tourism Service Center, Hainan-Hong Kong-Macao Free Travel Comprehensive Service Platform, and the yacht industry cluster. The city is attaching great importance on designing new tourism routes and new ports so that overseas yachts can come to Sanya conveniently and enjoy their stay, thereby cultivating new hot spots of tourism consumption for Sanya, as well as helping the construction of an international tourism consumption center.