Photo taken on June 11, 2023 shows people visiting the Great Bao'en Temple in Nanjing. (CFP Photo)

A symposium on providing innovative financial services for the digital transformation of cultural and tourism development in the Yangtze River Delta took place in Nanjing City of Jiangsu Province on October 9.

Hosted by the Nanjing Municipal Department of Culture and Tourism, the meeting aimed to advance the application of digital technologies for immersive travel experience.

To achieve the goal, it’s important to promote coordinated online and onsite efforts across five domains – technology, application scenarios, content, resources, and revenue conversion, in the view of experts.

One case in point is the Nanjing Jiangnan Silk Cultural Museum, which has effectively embraced digital transformation. For example, visitors can use VR devices to learn about the unique culture and techniques of making Nanjing Cloud Brocade, which has a history of more than 1,500 years.

The event also discussed how the Internet, artificial intelligence and other digital technologies are profoundly reshaping the cultural and tourism industries. In addition, financial innovation was identified as a key driver for high-quality development in these sectors.

Fan Xiaoping, general manager of a private equity firm from Jiangxi Province, called for cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt to share resources and information and also establish a fund to foster innovation in development.

In recent years, Jiangsu has focused on promoting the digitalization of its cultural and tourism sectors and encouraging structural upgrading. It aims to implement e-governance of cultural and tourism sectors and become a national lead in the endeavor by 2025.