Sunil Dissanayake receives Hotel Industry Education Leadership Award 2019

Sunil Dissanayake receives the Education Leadership Award for the Hotel Industry from Minister of Education Akila Viraj Kariyawasam at the Sri Lanka Best Employer Brand Awards 2019 held recently at the Taj Samudra

Recognised as a leader with passion and commitment, veteran hotelier and human resources professional BMICH Director/CEO Sunil Dissanayake was presented an Education Leadership Award at the Sri Lanka Best Employer Brand Awards 2019 held recently at the Taj Samudra. 

Sri Lanka Best Employer Brand Awards, celebrated annually since 2017 was launched to recognise leading companies, brands and individuals in the country that have demonstrated excellence in building a corporate brand to become an employer of choice.

The award was unsolicited and conferred upon him in honour of his significant contribution towards the development of the Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism & Hotel Management (SLITHM) during his tenure as Chairman of SLITHM from November 2015 to November 2018.

Under his stewardship, SLITHM transformed rapidly and grew in stature as a pioneering hospitality and tourism education provider which was recognised by the Tourist Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) and the Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO). 

SLITHM also won the Sri Lanka Tourism award 2018 as the best tourism and hospitality education provider presented by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority in November 2018. 

As Chairman, he led SLITHM in to a new era of growth and expansion. He successfully supervised the opening of five new campuses across the country, introduced several new hospitality and tourism related academic courses, obtained foreign expertise and funding for curriculum enhancement and faculty development.  He also successfully enhanced student output from 2,500 in 2015 to 7,000 plus in 2018 to meet the growing tourism and hospitality industry manpower requirements based on the country’s planned hospitality and tourism sector development.