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Wednesday, 14 June 2017 02:14 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Organisers of the Tourism Leaders’ Summit with Minister of Tourism Development John Amaratunga after the briefing
The organisers of the Tourism Leaders’ Summit recently met the Minister of Tourism Development John Amaratunga, officials of the ministry and Sri Lanka Tourism to brief them on the forthcoming United Nation’s World Tourism Day celebrations.
The Tourism Leaders’ Summit is an annual event organised by the Alumni Association of Tourism Economics and Hospitality Management (ATEHM) of the University of Colombo to coincide with the UNWTO celebrations.
Started in 2014, the summit has turned out to be a well-accepted event by the industry, having been recognised as the main event that coincides with UN World Tourism Day. “Sustainable Tourism for development - way forward for Sri Lanka’ is the theme of this year’s event. This is a combination of the global theme and an addition of the relevant Sri Lankan context.
The organising committee led by Dr. Suranga Silva briefed the Minister of Tourism on the theme, objectives and current status of the summit. Minister Amaratunga has reportedly confirmed the support of his ministry and Sri Lanka Tourism while proposing improvements.
Dr. Silva is the founder and coordinator of the Master’s in Tourism Economics and Hotel Management at the University of Colombo and Secretary General of the Tourism and Hospitality Educators and Researchers Association of Asia (THERAA).
The Minister has recommended collaboration with all stakeholders in the industry and proposed to consider carrying out an awareness program in the provinces targeting schoolchildren in a bid to attract them to the industry. He has pointed out that it is of significant importance to attract youth into the hospitality industry with the current Government policy of promoting tourism as a major economic driver.
This year’s summit will be held on 4 October at the BMICH and it will feature eminent guest speakers Prof. Sanjay Nadkarni from Dubai, UAE , Prof. François Vellas from France, Prof. Heidi Dahles from Australia, Dr. Joseph M. Cheer from Australia, Prof. Keir Reeves from Australia, Prof. S. Rashidul Hasan from Bangladesh, Prof. Bansal from India, Prof. Sandeep Kulshestra from India, Prof. Venkat Rao from India, Prof. Dr. Dimitri Ioannides from Sweden, Dr. Stroma Cole from England, Prof. Dr. Kumi Kato from Japan, Prof. Claudio Milano from Spain, Prof. Ali Kathabi from Malaysia, Prof. Marina Ambrosecchio from Italy, Prof. Dr. S. Chemsripong from Thailand and Prof. QiujuLuo from Guangzhou, China.
The fringe events in the run-up to the main event will include Women in Tourism and Community-based Tourism, a pre-event press briefing, tree-planting campaign and public awareness program on sustainable tourism, Tourism Day Walk 2017, an industry interactive network building cricket carnival and tourism walk, quiz competition and Tourism Leaders International Research Symposium and Conclave.
