中國超級富豪爲何對超級遊艇不感冒

If there is one country where many people can afford to superyacht, it’s China. Now the world’s largest economy, some 11,000 Chinese citizens are considered ultra-wealthy, with assets over $30 million, according to wealth intelligence firm, Wealth-X.

要說哪個國家有很多富人能買得起超級遊艇，那絕對是中國。據財富情報機構Wealth-X公司統計，作爲全球最大的經濟體之一，中國已經擁有大約1.1萬名資產超過3000萬美元的“超級富豪”。

But, the superyacht industry hasn’t caught on big in China.

但是，超級遊艇業至今沒有在中國賺到多少錢。

Superyachts are officially defined as boats whose hulls at the water line measure longer than 24 meters, or 79 feet. A superyacht — typically a private boat that requires a professional crew to operate — costs $6 million on up. Just 34 –or 0.7 percent — of the world’s 4,836 superyachts are based in China, according to a 2013 study by the Auckland Government.

根據官方定義，超級遊艇指的是那些吃水線長度超過24米的豪華遊脡。一般來說，每艘超級遊艇都需要由一支專業團隊來操作，單艘超級遊艇的售價起碼在600萬美元以上。根據奧克蘭市政府在2013年所做的一項調查，全球現有的4836艘超級遊艇中，只有34艘在中國，約佔總數的0.7%。

In part, the lack of popularity is due to culture. Yachting is all about fun in the sun. And traditionally, many Chinese have avoided the sun and haven’t really done downtime.

超級遊艇在中國遇冷的部分原因是中國的文化。遊艇的妙處就在於享受大海和陽光。而傳統上，很多中國人都避免曬太陽，而且他們在休息時間也閒不下來。

“The Chinese are not used to the idea of time away from it all, especially not European style,” explained Colin Dawson, chairman of the Asia-Pacific Superyacht Association. “They tend to take a very different approach to yacht ownership – it’s a business tool, not a leisure item.”

亞太超級遊艇協會主席科林o道森解釋道：“中國人不太習慣於遠離塵囂，尤其是不習慣歐洲的那種休閒方式。如果他們購買遊艇，那往往是出於其它動機——對於中國富豪來說，遊艇是一種商業工具，而不是休閒物品。”

Luc Khaldoun is the head of client advisory services at OneOcean Ventures, which provides a range of services for superyacht owners. He noted that his Chinese clients seemed to prefer yachts with “little open space” and wanted to “limit time spent outside.”

盧克o哈勒敦是OneOcean Ventures公司的客戶諮詢服務總監，這家公司主要向超級遊艇買家提供一系列服務。哈勒敦指出，中國客戶貌似更加喜歡那種“開放空間小”的超級遊艇，而且想“限制在外面停留的時間”。

There are also some pragmatic reasons why superyachting hasn’t caught on with the Chinese elite. China has a luxury goods import tax of 43 percent. Adding to the expense: the region lacks experienced crew, so Chinese superyacht owners need to relocate Europeans and obtain work visas for them.

超級遊艇沒有成爲中國精英的玩物，或許還有一些更加實際的原因。中國的奢侈品進口稅達到了43%。另外中國也缺乏有經驗的船員，所以遊艇買家需要僱歐洲人給他們開船，這就免不了要爲他們辦工作簽證。這些都會增加購買遊艇的成本。

In recent years, the government also has cracked down on corporate corruption, and some may fear that cruising around on a superyacht and using it to entertain clients (and government officials) might make an exec more visible — and perhaps more of a target.

此外，中國政府近年來一直在大力整頓企業腐敗。一些富豪擔心乘坐遊艇出行或是請客戶或官員出海享樂，可能會將他們暴露在調查人員的視野中。

And then, there’s just simple geography. Part of the appeal of cruising has been puttering around idyllic Mediterranean archipelagos. While China has a few key marinas like Nansha Marina in Guangzhou and Ocean One International Yacht Club, it still lacks some of the infrastructure to support superyachts, such as repair yards, as well as the Mediterranean’s pretty coastline.

另外還有地理問題。對於歐洲人來說，遊艇的另一個吸引力就是可以坐着它逛逛地中海的小島。但在中國，類似於南沙碼頭和一洋國際遊艇俱樂部這樣的遊艇碼頭寥寥無幾。此外，中國仍然缺少某些支持超級遊艇的基礎設施，比如修理廠。更不用說也沒有像地中海那樣美麗的海岸線。

Of course, none of this has stopped a few ultra-wealthy Chinese from buying, and keeping, yachts — in Europe, the U.S., and even elsewhere in Asia. The superyacht market in China is growing, albeit very slowly. “Chinese looking into superyachts may buy in Europe and elsewhere in Asia,” said Nigel Stuart, managing director of Spirits Yachts, a yacht building company. He noted that Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia are “stunning blue water cruising destinations.” European brokers are regulars at the Shanghai, Dalian and Hainan Rendez Vous boat shows, hoping to lure Chinese buyers with the dream of cruising around St. Tropez, Cannes, and Capri.

當然，種種因素也沒有能阻止少數中國超級富豪購買和保有遊艇的腳步——只不過他們是在歐洲、美國和亞洲其它地區購買的。中國超級遊艇市場雖然增速緩慢，但畢竟還是在增長。遊艇製造公司Spirits Yachts的常務董事奈傑爾o斯圖爾特表示：“想購買超級遊艇的中國人可能會在歐洲或亞洲的其它國家購買。”他指出，新加坡、泰國和馬來西亞都是“絕佳的航海目的地”。歐洲的遊艇經紀人經常參加位於上海、大連和海南的遊艇展，希望能夠吸引到那些夢想坐着遊艇周遊聖特魯佩斯、戛納和卡普里島的中國富豪。

While China may not yet be a destination for yachting itself, it is gaining a reputation as a base for yacht-building, primarily because of its lower costs. According to Boat International, China now ranks eighth in the top ten superyacht building nations, and 28 superyachts were constructed there in one year, mainly in Shandong and Guandong, according to the Auckland Government study.

儘管中國本身還不是一個遊艇旅遊的好去處，但作爲遊艇生產基地，它已經積累了一定的口碑，特別是更低的製造成本。據《國際舟船》雜誌報道，在十大超級遊艇生產國中，中國目前排名第8位。另據奧克蘭市政府的調查顯示，中國目前年產超級遊艇28艘，生產基地分別位於山東和廣東。

To be sure, the Chinese yacht construction is small fry compared to Italy’s 269 yachts built last year, but the 43 percent import tax on luxury goods means that domestic construction in China will becoming even more appealing, as long as demand grows.

與意大利去年269艘遊艇的產量相比，中國的產量顯得微不足道。但43%的奢侈品進口稅也意味着中國的國產遊艇將更具吸引力——只要需求還在增長。

Meanwhile, China is not being written off as a market. Most superyacht brokers and builders say they are just biding their time. Some have dipped their toes into the Chinese market by opening a shop in nearby Hong Kong or Singapore, which both have a strong expat population and infrastructure better-suited to yachting.

與此同時，許多人也沒有放棄中國市場。大部分超級遊艇經銷商和製造商都表示，他們只是在等待時機。有些公司已經開始試水中國市場，比如在香港或新加坡開設商店，這兩個地方都有很多中國移民，而且那裏的基礎設施也更適合遊艇。

UK-based yacht designer Spirit Yachts opened in Hong Kong last year, while London-based Burgess Yachts is opening in Singapore later this year. “We are slowly preparing for when China comes on stream – when it does, it will come big,” said Jonathan Beckett, chief executive of Burgess.

英國的遊艇設計公司Spirit Yachts去年在香港開設了分公司，倫敦的Burgess Yachts公司也將於今年晚些時候在新加坡開設分號。Burgess Yachts公司CEO喬納森o貝克特表示：“我們正在慢慢準備中國市場的好轉。屆時，它將是一個龐大的市場。”

Many agree that China’s time will come, but just not for the next decade or so. “Is China the new market for superyachts? Not yet – is the answer. North America, Europe, the Gulf and the Middle East are still the markets of today,” said Beckett. Burgess, like many others, is refocusing efforts on traditional markets, and sales are on the up. Last year the ultra high net worth spent a combined $22 billion on yachts, according to data from Wealth-X.

很多人認同中國時代終將來臨，只不過可能還得等上十幾年甚至更久。貝克特說：“中國是否是超級遊艇的新市場？答案是：至少現在還不是。目前的主要市場仍然是北美、歐洲、海灣地區和中東。”Burgess和許多其他遊艇公司正在把主要精力集中在傳統市場上，而且銷量也正在上升。Wealth-X公司的數據顯示，去年全球超級富豪花在遊艇上的錢達到了220億美元。

What the industry must remember is that it took 30 years to build a superyacht market in the West, so it may still catch on in the East.

遊艇行業必須清楚，這個行業花了30年時間纔在西方國家形成氣候。要讓遊艇在東方流行起來，也得花上不少時間。