On 25th October, Hong Kong BIA participated in the “Asia-Pacific Yacht Industry High-Level Forum” organised by the Macau Yacht Show. The Forum covered 3 areas: Developing the Sailing Yacht Economy, Yachting in the Greater Bay Area (GBA), and Yachting and Marine Economic Development.
The Keynote speaker was Tong Shing, President of the Hong Kong Sailing Federation, (Bluefin Sea Sports –HKBIA member) on the development of the sailing yacht economy. It was then followed with a panel discussion on the development of the yacht industry in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) and the Development in the Marine Industry. Lawrence Chow (Chairman), gave a speech on the potential benefits to the industry within the GBA and how Hong Kong could be the key player in the overall strategy. He also highlighted the bottleneck the industry faces due to the lack of moorings and how this could affect the overall GBA strategy. The forum was concluded with speech from Andy Treadwell on the key elements that are needed to grow boating Treadwell believes that the whole of the industry, from sailboats to superyachts and all the businesses in between and alongside, will only develop if governments understand the huge potential economic impact and social benefits that a developing boating industry would bring.
Collaboration is the key to development, and if key industry players can work together and lobby governments in the right way, then the market will flourish.
