TVB News: Interview with Lawrence Chow (HKBIA Chairman) to discuss the Policy Address 2025 & developing the yacht economy
September 20, 2025
Following the Chief Executive’s 2025 Policy Address, Lawrence Chow (Chairman of the HKBIA and MA Director) sits down with TVB to discuss the highly anticipated changes proposed by the government to help promote the yacht tourism industry. These proposals including providing additional yacht berths, enhancing amenities for visiting yachts, and improving immigration clearance procedures.
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Excerpt Below:
TVB NEWS: Policy Address 2025 | Proposes Optimizing Yacht Industry Support, Industry Advocates Standardizing Entry and Exit Procedures in the Greater Bay Area to Attract Visitors
The Policy Address proposes to promote high-end yachts. The tourism industry believes that if the entry and exit procedures for yachts in the Greater Bay Area can be unified, it will help attract more yacht visitors.
Last year, the government announced plans to build world-class yachting facilities in Hung Hom. The Policy Address further proposes optimizing supporting facilities for the yacht industry. This includes projects at the Hung Hom Station waterfront, the Lamma Quarry, and the Aberdeen Typhoon Shelter, adding a total of 600 new yacht berths.
The government is also promoting the development of an "Aerotropolis" yacht harbor, capable of berthing superyachts over 80 meters in length. Furthermore, visiting yachts will no longer need to reserve berths at private yacht clubs or marinas, allowing them to sail freely within Hong Kong and anchor in designated waters.
The industry believes this is a good start and will help attract high-end yacht tourists. Chairman of the Hong Kong Boating Industry Association, Lawrence Chow, pointed out: "Many places are beautiful, but you may need a tender to get on and off. Some piers aren't designed for yachts, unless you have a captain to lower you down. If you're driving your own boat, that's basically impossible. It's much more convenient for yachts to have a place where they can moor for a few hours."
It's understood the government is exploring the introduction of a one-stop electronic system to allow ship crews to provide information and streamline immigration procedures. The SAR government will also discuss with the Guangdong provincial government the convenience of "harbor boats heading north" and "north-bound boats heading south." Chow suggested that Greater Bay Area cities could standardize immigration procedures. Chow said, "If there could be a simplified guide that clearly explains the procedures, where to do it, and how much the fees are, it would be much simpler if the entire Greater Bay Area could use the same solution. I don't have to go to Shenzhen or Zhuhai to figure out how to do it."
Some Legislative Council members believe that the development of the yacht economy involves a wide range of fields and suggest that the government set up a high-level group to follow up. Luk Hon-man, a legislator on the Election Committee of the Liberal Democratic Alliance, believes, "The yacht economy and yacht tourism involve at least four policy bureaux. Therefore, I believe that for internal communication and advancement within the SAR government, an official at, for example, the level of Deputy Secretary is needed to lead the different bureaux." He believes that to develop cross-border yacht tourism, individual neighboring cities, such as Shenzhen, can be selected as pilot cities first.