With over 12,000 registered yachts but only around 4,300 berths, Hong Kong plans to boost its yacht tourism by adding about 1,100 berths at several locations: the proposed Airport Bay Marina, the Hung Hom harbourfront, the former Lamma Quarry and the expanded Aberdeen Typhoon Shelter.

The projects are part of the city’s waterfront developments. Airport Bay Marina, for instance, was revealed in the Skytopia master plan, which includes an expanded AsiaWorld-Expo, a “jet fresh market” designed to rival Tokyo’s Tsukiji Fish Market, and an art storage hub. The proposed Hung Hom waterfront development, meanwhile, plans to integrate the Hung Hom MTR station, Hong Kong Coliseum and harbourfront into a new retail and entertainment destination.

For Hong Kong, a city with nearly 1,200km of coastline, hundreds of islands and an iconic deepwater harbour at the southern tip of the Greater Bay Area, it makes sense to enhance its waterfront and yacht tourism.

The Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong says the yacht industry could generate HK$4.5 billion (US$579 million) annually. This would be a tiny fraction of Hong Kong’s economy, which exceeded US$407 billion last year. But if the yacht industry is the bone, the meat on it would be the assets and investments brought in by the oligarchs and high-net-worth individuals – a fast-growing class on the mainland – attracted by the new marinas, if these marinas are sufficiently well designed, implemented and operated.