Tourism Leaders’ Summit 2017 draws local and international attention

• All ready to stage the event on 4 Oct.

 The annual Tourism Leader Summit which takes place for the third consecutive year is billed to draw attention from the industry both local and international says the organisers, the Alumni of Tourism and Hospitality Management of the University of Colombo. The mega event will be held on 4 October at the BMICH while the International Research Symposium will be held a day before: 3 October at the same venue. Both events commence at 8 a.m. 

This year’s core theme, as announced earlier, is ‘Sustainable Tourism For Development; Way Forward For Sri Lanka’, which is in line with the global them envisaged by the United Nation’s World Tourism Organization. The Ministry of Tourism Development and the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority are the main partners of the event who have augmented the entire outlook of the occasion by endorsement and collaboration. 

The organisers making an official announcement confirm the participation of both local and international participants and speakers. It is a singular platform where the academics, practitioners and professional in the trade will deliberate on wide range of pertinent topics. Such key topics include: A contemporary review of Sri Lanka Tourism vision 2025, Challenges, collaborations and partnerships for Sri Lanka Tourism, Forum for global best practices – Way forward for Sri Lanka Tourism , Successful tourism promotion via diplomatic missions and Innovations, strategies and implementation for Sri Lanka Tourism strategy 2017-2020.

Among many other international scholars and speakers, Prof. Marina Ambrosecchio from the European University for Tourism (EUT) will deliver the keynote speech on Sustainable Tourism for Development. Further several prominent local business leaders, entrepreneurs and senior professionals connected to the industry will feature at the event who are expected to bring in insightful reflections of their own experiences in relation to the topics discussed during the plenary sessions.

The international research symposium provides a platform for deliberations on topics such as Cultural Values Diversity and Heritage in Tourism chaired by Prof. Sandeep Kulshreshtha, (India), Social Inclusiveness, Employment and Poverty Reduction through Tourism, chaired by Dr. Joseph Cheer, (Australia), Supply Chain Management and Sustainable Tourism Growth chaired by Prof. Dr. Dimitri Loannides, (Sweden) Lifting Industry Standards for Tourism Development, chaired by Prof. Sanjay Nadkarni, (India) and Effective Marketing and Positioning for Innovative Tourism Products chaired by Chairperson Prof. Ali Khatibi (Malaysia).

In the run up to the flagship event, a series of fringe events were held; the latest being the future tourism leader quiz which was held on 27 September at the SLITHM, and the tree planting campaign which was held on 25 September at the Thalawathugoda wetland bio diversity park where the members of the alumni participated to plant a tree each. The cricket carnival was held on 24 September where the teams from the industry joined the fun and frolic. The Tourism walk 2017 was carried out on 17 September where the students and officials marched together to create awareness in the run up to the Tourism Leaders Summit.

With the overwhelming support and enthusiasm from the industry, the organisers expect participation in excess of 1,000 and each participation will be presented with a certificate to mark their contribution and commitment. For further clarification interested individuals shall contact Roshi Stronach on 077 30 43 217 or log onto www.tourismleaderssummit.org.