4th Tourism Leaders’ Summit and International Tourism Research Conference from 4-5 Oct. at BMICH

The fourth consecutive Tourism Leaders’ Summit (TLS) and International Tourism Research Conference (ITRC) will be held on 4 and 5 October at the BMICH Colombo. 

Organised by the Alumni Association of Tourism Economics and Hospitality Management (AATHEM) and the students of the Tourism Study Program of the Department of Economics, University of Colombo, the event will be held in parallel to the official celebration of UNWTO World Tourism Day in Sri Lanka.

The TLS and ITRC have been part of the World Tourism Day celebrations since 2015 with President Maithripala Sirisena gracing the previous year celebrations. The special commemorative stamp was released and presented to President Sirisena during the past event. Tourism Leaders’ Summit In this year, the focus of the event will be on “Integration of Global Value Chains for Sustainable Tourism Development”. 

Consequently, the comparative and comprehensive analysis on the application of current tourism strategies in Sri Lanka, more specifically “Tourism Strategic Plan (2017-2020) – A Story of Untapped Potential” will be carried out with the contribution of industry practitioners, public policy-makers, community organisations, international experts and eminent academics/researchers, under the guidelines of achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

High level representatives from UNWTO, ambassadors from tourist origin countries, academics, corporate and industry leaders will be among speakers while presentations of research papers and panel discussions with high academic value will be included in the program. Over 1,500 participants from travel and tourism practitioners, researchers, academics diplomatic representatives, media personnel and students of the tourism study programs are expected in this grand event. 

As the premiere State-run academic body, the Alumni Association of Tourism Economics and Hospitality Management of the Department of Economics, University of Colombo has taken the lead in the past three years in organising celebrations of United Nations World Tourism Day at national level in association with the Ministry of Tourism development working together with key stakeholders have helped fulfil the national tourism development agenda and synergies a common platform in which academia and industry professionals work together in designing sound and practical strategies to develop the industry.