Expo gives Gansu platform to boost finance, cultural tourism

The Gansu government aims to provide diverse and innovative financial services for cultural tourism sectors, a government official has said.

Song Liang, executive vice-governor of Gansu province, made the remarks at a finance forum focused on the development of cultural tourism, held in Gannan Tibet autonomous prefecture on Tuesday.

Gansu hopes to convert its advantages in cultural tourism resources to industrial and economic strengths, Song said.

The forum is a joint activity combining the fourth Silk Road (Dunhuang) International Cultural Expo and ninth Dunhuang Tour Silk Road International Tourism Festival that opened in Gannan on Tuesday.

23 themed activities will be held during the expo and the festival, which will host its closing ceremony in Gansu's Dunhuang city on Aug 31. Forums, exhibitions, performances, traveling, trade negotiations and innovation events are set to boost interest in the region.

Experts at the forum discussed the significance of capital and finance in developing cultural tourism in the province. An opinion document on finance supporting Gansu's cultural tourism sectors to speed up development was released in conjunction with the event. It encourages financial institutions to offer diverse financing services such as bond financing to promote Gansu's cultural tourism.

As a result, cultural tourism loans are expected steadily rise in number and the services from capital markets such as bonds, stocks and funds will improve.