From stir-fry woks to fish steamers and karaoke rooms, luxury yacht builders are adding quirky new features to adapt to the taste of Chinese buyers and their passion for dining.
“People use it as a floating restaurant really,” said Gordon Hui, from luxury yacht manufacturer Sunseeker. ”They want to get the kitchen out of the way… Good food and wine are something important. Therefore we customize the galley with special Chinese woks and fish steamers (as well as) a round-shaped dining table,” Hui added.
“Most people are corporate people turning up at the marina in suits and shoes, they are not wearing swimming shorts or T-shirts. It is very company-orientated, they bring their (personal assistants), it is exactly like going to the restaurants,” he said.
Although the number of mainland Chinese billionaires reached 596 this year, overtaking the U.S. for the first time, the luxury yacht market has been facing headwinds in China, following Chinese President Xi Jinping’s ongoing crackdown on corruption.