UNWTO and Guilin further strengthened their bilateral cooperation through a meeting on the 24^th of October 2014, led by  Mayor Tang Congyuan at the UNWTO Headquarters in Madrid, Spain.

UNWTO Secretary General, Taleb Rifai, warmly greeted the delegation, congratulating the success of the recently held 8^th UNWTO/PATA Forum on Tourism Trends and Outlook in Guilin and emphasized UNWTO´s continued support of Guilin in progressing tourism development including for the support of boosting rural tourism.

Mayor Tang Congyuan expressed his gratitude for UNWTO’s support over the years and outlined Guilin´s planned tourism development agenda including a strong commitment to sustainable development.

Further discussions over the next session of the UNWTO/PATA Forum and its 10th anniversary have been carried on between the two sides. To signify the commitment of both parties for the ongoing joint relationship, minutes on the future collaboration between UNWTO and Guilin Municipal Government was signed by Mr. Taleb Rifai and Mr. Tang Congyuan.