Kaiyang project joins national smart tourism list

The Shuidong Cottage project from Kaiyang county – administered by Guiyang, capital city of Southwest China's Guizhou province – recently made it onto an official list of Typical Smart Tourism Cases in 2021.

The Shuidong Cottage is a particularly innovative rural revitalization project and the national smart tourism list was announced by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

The list is reportedly an initiative designed to help accelerate the development of smart tourism characterized by digitalization, networking and intelligence.

It is understood that the Kaiyang project stood out from the other cases that applied for recognition, leading to it becoming one of 27 cases on the national list.

The project – which is located in Longguang village in Nanjiang township in Kaiyang county – involves a local company that acts to galvanize rural revitalization. The enterprise builds the platform and farmers invest in idle houses and land.

The platform is responsible for bringing in urban investment, as well as renovating and operating the houses and land in a coordinated manner.

Investors hold 60 percent of the shares in the venture, the Shuidong Cottage platform holds 20 percent of the shares and farmers hold the remaining 20 percent of the equity.

While providing visitors with good tourism services, the operation model is said to protect the natural environment to the greatest extent, while creating opportunities for local villagers to participate in rural tourism support services.

Local farmers can reportedly increase their incomes through farm stays and agricultural product sales.