DAB Fully Supports "Southbound travel for Yachts from Guangdong" to Advance Five-Year Plan and Deepen Greater Bay Area Development

19 September 2026

Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan today said the implementation of southbound travel for yachts from Guangdong is expected to launch as early as October, boosting cross-boundary leisure spending and Hong Kong's yacht economy. The DAB warmly welcomes and fully supports the move — another substantive breakthrough in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao individual yacht travel, following the State Council's approval in May of a guarantee-free policy for Hong Kong and Macao yachts.

The DAB has long pursued alignment of policies for Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao individual yacht travel. Over the past two years, it has put forward concrete proposals through the National "Two Sessions" to build a Greater Bay Area yacht port, allow for mutual recognition of yacht licences among Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Macao, and promote individual yacht travel. In May this year, the DAB raised an oral question in LegCo urging the SAR Government to set out a yacht industry blueprint in its five-year plan and establish a dedicated steering group for unified planning and implementation. It also proposed clear berth divisions: SKYTOPIA Yacht Bay as an international hub, Hung Hom Station waterfront as an urban leisure centre, and Aberdeen, Sai Kung and Lamma Island as island holiday bases — creating district synergy and linking Greater Bay Area cities into a "Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong–Macao" maritime attraction.

Hong Kong's first five-year plan was officially released on 16 September, with its fourth chapter themed " Deepen the Development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and Create an International Collaboration Network." The plan explicitly calls for "actively developing the yacht economy" and incorporates the marine economy into the plan. The DAB believes that both northbound travel of yachts from Hong Kong and southbound travel for yachts from the Chinese Mainland break through the bottlenecks restricting cross-boundary yacht movement — another breakthrough in ensuring the flow of resources and people within the Greater Bay Area, which is fully consistent with the plan's strategic direction of deepening Greater Bay Area development. The Government's timely launch of the southbound travel for yachts from Guangdong translates the plan's top-level design on regional policy alignment and marine economy development into concrete, practical action.

Looking ahead, the DAB urges the SAR Government to seize the opportunity and further strengthen the industrial chain supporting the yacht economy. Beyond cross-boundary movement of people and vessels, the yacht economy involves a wide range of services — tourism amenities, logistics and supplies, repair and maintenance, and berthing management. The DAB therefore recommends that the Government coordinate the planning of marina facilities, streamline cross-boundary clearance, and improve supply and maintenance systems, to build a complete yacht economy ecosystem.

The DAB firmly believes that, with the support of the Central Government and under the leadership of Chief Executive John Lee, Hong Kong can develop the Greater Bay Area into a world-class yacht leisure destination — making the yacht economy a powerful engine for high-quality regional development and bringing benefits to the livelihoods and economies of all three places.

Media Enquiries:

Mr. Chan Yung,

Convenor of Hong Kong Deputies to the National People's Congress, DAB Vice-Chairperson, LegCo Member and Chairman of the LegCo Panel on Constitutional Affairs   9668 6095

Mr. Chu Lap-wai,

Hong Kong Deputy to the National People's Congress and DAB LegCo Member  9289 9361