The Guilin government started cooperation with the World Tourism Organization of the United Nations in 2003 to initiate a series of meetings to become more international and well known to the world as a picturesque city, according local officials.

2003

Seminar on regional cooperation in UNWTO tourist destination development and management.

2005

Seminar on a sustainable development index for tourism.

2007

The first conference on tourism trends and study of UNWTO and the Pacific Asia Travel Association. Some 200 distinguished guests and speakers from more than 20 countries and regions attended the conference.

2008

The second UNWTO/PATA international forum on tourism trends and outlook focused on the impact from the global financial crisis and cooperation among tourist sites around the world.

2009

The third UNWTO/PATA international forum discussed the recovery of the global tourism industry. Guilin became the permanent host city for the forum.

2010

The theme of the fourth UNWTO/PATA forum is domestic and regional tourism, an effective way to promote the recovery of tourism industry after the financial crisis.

2011

The theme of the fifth UNWTO/PATA forum was innovation and diversification. Attendees agreed that innovation is needed after the global crisis.

2012

The theme of the sixth UNWTO/PATA forum is to share experience and mutual benefits. The forum discussed and analyzed development trends and future strategies and prospects.

2013

The theme of the seventh UNWTO/PATA forum on tourism was new knowledge, practices and challenges.

Organizers

One of the annual forum's organizers, UNWTO is the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.

It promotes tourism as a driver of economic growth, inclusive development and environmental sustainability and offers leadership and support to the sector in advancing knowledge and tourism policies worldwide.

Another organizer, PATA, is a membership association that acts as a catalyst for the responsible development of Asia-Pacific travel and tourism industry.

The association provides leadership and counsel on an individual and collective basis to more than 80 government, state and city tourism organizations across the Asia Pacific region and beyond.

(China Daily 10/13/2014 page24)