중국 부유층의 새로운 상징으로 떠오르는 요트 (E)

홍콩에서 제작된 호화 요트

홍콩 국제보트쇼가 홍콩의 한 정박소에서 열렸습니다. 홍콩의 보트 애호가들은 신발을 벗고 국제 생산업체들이 선보이고 있는 고가의 호화요트에 조심스럽게 올라탑니다. 일부 잠재 소비자들은 중국 본토에서 왔습니다. 쉔젠에서 온 한 남성은 화학업으로 재산을 축적했습니다.

이 남성은 지난해 항해용 보트를 샀다며 이제는 모터요트를 사고 싶다고 말했습니다.

중국의 여가용 보트 시장은 아직 초기단계에 있습니다. 전국적으로 400척의 개인 보트가 등록돼 있고 대부분 모터보트입니다.

그러나 중국 요트업계를 전문으로 다루는 상하이의 머린 드래곤 컨설팅 (Marine Dragon Consulting)의 에이드리언 매그넌 (Adrien Magnan)씨는 호화보트의 수요가 크게 늘고 있다고 말했습니다. 최근 몇 년 사이 호화보트에 지출된 돈이 수백, 수천만 달러씩 급증하고 있다는 것입니다.

매그넌씨는 “호화보트에 대한 지출이 매년 배로  늘고 있다”고 말했습니다. 매그넌씨는 “요트판매 수입이 지난 2005년에 3천만 달러를 기록한데 이어 지난해에는 5천만 달러, 이제는 1억 달러가 넘는다”고 말했습니다. 따라서 요트수입금이 내년에  2억달러에서 4억 달러에 달하면 중국은 몇 년 안에 이탈리아나 프랑스와 같은 유럽국가들을 따라잡을 수 있을 것이라는 전망입니다. 매그넌씨는 “중국이 5년 안에 세계 5대 요트시장으로 발돋음하는 것은  놀라운 일이  아닐 것”이라고 덧붙였습니다. 

중국에는 오늘날 약 50만명의 백만장자가 있습니다. 중국에서는 호화품 판매가 급등하고 있고 요트는 부유층 사이에서 최고의  소유품목으로 떠오르고 있습니다.

홍콩에 본부를 둔 요트 판매업체인 심슨 머린 (Simpson Marine)의 마이크 심슨 (Mike Simpson) 대표는 3년 전 중국에서 요트를 판매하기 시작했습니다. 심슨 대표는 중국의 돈많은 소비자들은 서양식 생활방식을 추구한다고 말했습니다.

심슨 대표는 중국 소비자들은 “돈을 모으면 서구식 생활풍모에 관한 잡지를 읽으면서 자신들의 성공수준을 세계적으로 어떻게 자랑할것인를  생각한다”고 말했습니다. 중국인들은 벤틀리와 같은  가장 빠른 고속의 고급차량을 구입하거나 유럽 건축가들을 고용해 프랑스 르네상스풍의 멋진 주택을 설계한다는 것입니다. 또한 유럽 패션을 추구하고 이제는 요트가 유행한다는 것입니다.

심슨 대표는 특히 중국 정부는 내년 베이징 올림픽 대회 때문에 요트경기를 추진하고 있다고 말했습니다.

심슨 대표는 “올 여름 칭다오에서 올림픽 요트 경기가 열릴 예정이며 이는 보트시장에 원동력을 제공하고 있다”고 말했습니다. 심슨 대표는 중국 정부는 요트경주 학교를 설립하고  항만건설을 지방 정부들에게 장려하는 등, 요트 경주의 기반시설을 기초단계서 부터 만들어나가는데 주력하고 있다고 말했습니다.

For boat manufacturers, the yachting market of the future is China, where luxury sailing yachts and motorboats are becoming the ultimate accessory of the super-rich. New marinas are being developed, and the government is promoting sailing ahead of next year's Olympics. Claudia Blume reports from VOA's Asia News Center in Hong Kong.

It is a beautiful, sunny day at Hong Kong's International Boat Show, held at one of the city's many marinas. Boat lovers from around the region take off their shoes and step carefully onto the stunning - and very expensive - luxury yachts being displayed by leading international manufacturers.

Some of the potential customers are from mainland China, such as this man from Shenzhen, who made his fortune in the chemical industry.

He says he bought a sailing boat last year, and now he wants to buy a motor yacht, too.

China's market for pleasure boats is still in the infancy stage.  Just 400 private boats are registered nationwide, and almost all of them are motorboats. But Adrien Magnan of Marine Dragon Consulting in Shanghai, which specializes in the Chinese yachting industry, says the amount spent on luxury boats has been leaping upwards by tens-of-millions of dollars in the past few years.

"If you look at the increase, it's about 100 percent every year," he explained.  "So 2005 was about $30 million (dollars), 2006 was about $50 million U.S. (dollars), now we are exceeding $100 million in imports of yachts. And so, if next year it will be $200 or $400 (million) - in a few years it will catch up with countries like Italy or France in Europe. I wouldn't be surprised to see China in the top five markets in less than five years."

There are about half-a-million U.S.-dollar millionaires in China today. Sales of luxury items there are skyrocketing, and yachts are becoming the ultimate accessory of the ultra-rich. Mike Simpson, owner of Hong Kong-based yacht dealer Simpson Marine, started selling boats in China three years ago. He says his wealthy Chinese customers are seeking a Western lifestyle.

"As soon as they have money, they are all reading  these lifestyle magazines. It's almost like step-by-step," he explained. " 'Right now, we have this sort of money, and I have reached sort of this level of my success. Now, to show it to the world, what do I need to do?' So, obviously, it's the fast cars, it's the Bentley or whatever it is, and then the very smart house, which will probably be French Renaissance - and they get European architects to design it for them - then, of course, the European fashion and, now, it comes to the yachts - the yacht is part of that whole thing."

Shanghai's International Boat Show has already become one of Asia's largest. Smaller marine fairs are held in Qingdao and Dalian in Northeastern China and in Shenzhen and Zhuhai in the South.

Pleasure sailing, virtually unheard of in China until a few years ago, is becoming increasing popular. Last month, around 60 teams sailed across the border from Hong Kong to Shenzhen in the China Cup Regatta, the country's first major boat race. This summer, a Chinese team joined the America's Cup, the world's most famous sailing competition, for the first time.

Mike Simpson says the government is promoting sailing because of next year's Olympic Games in Beijing.

"They have the sailing Olympics in Qingdao this summer," he noted, "and that has really given an impetus to the boat market, and they have really been pushing local governments to encourage sailing schools, and marina development, that kind of thing, to try to build up, as we realize now, sort of an infrastructure at ground level, a grassroots development of yachting."

Adrien Magnan says that despite China's long coastline and many lakes, there are fewer than 10 marinas on the whole mainland, with a total of about 1,000 moorings. But he says more are being developed, for example in Xiamen on the East Coast or on Hainan Island in the Southeast, as local governments realize the positive economic impact of marinas.

"Definitely. I mean, they are trying to open the coastline to the rest of the world," he said.  It creates business, it creates real local economy. A marina is more than a place where you park yachts. It's a real profit-maker for the whole city in terms of brand image, in terms of attractiveness of a city, and it generates, of course, revenues and employment for the city."

Both Magnan and Simpson say a lack of infrastructure, expertise and repair facilities are some of the challenges for the development of China's yachting industry. But they say the biggest obstacle is a lack of uniform regulations.

The status of pleasure motor yachts has not yet been clarified, and there is no national system for licensing sailors. If a skipper wants to sail a yacht from one province to another, for example from Shanghai up the coast to Qingdao, he has to get cruising permits from the authorities in each location.