International Culture & Tourism Festival 2015 Kunshan kicks off

The International Culture & Tourism Festival 2015 Kunshan kicked off on April 25. With the theme "ecological Kunshan, charming water towns", the festival aims to present local customs and scenery, according to Kunshan Tourism Resort.

Fifteen activities, covering relaxation, art and sightseeing, will be organized to enhance the city's visibility and brand.

In 2015, Kunshan Tourism Resort will drive tourism at full stretch, taking advantage of the upcoming Shanghai Disney Resort, scheduled to open in 2016.

The resort strives to yield 8.33 billion yuan ($1.34 billion) of added value, an increase of 10.2 percent over 2014, and 18.5 billion yuan of tourism revenue, an increase of 10.1 percent over 2014, Kunshan Tourism Resort said.

The number of visitors is expected to hit 15 million, 8.7 percent more than 2014. Investment in fixed tourism assets is expected to reach 2.2 billion yuan, an increase of 10 percent over the previous year.

Therefore, the resort will pay more attention to leisure tourism, culture, services and the environment.

It will explore the rural tourism, develop unique leisure tourism, and attract investment in hotels and bed and breakfasts.

The resort will attract professional people to bring forth new ideas in the expression of traditional culture, as well as repairing historical buildings and protecting intangible culture.

Complying with demand in the Internet era, it will develop apps to make it easier to tour in the city.

In addition, it will also place an emphasis on water treatment to create clean water towns.