UOC Tourism Alumni 6th AGM ends on high note

• Special attention made over resilience building and sustainable tourism development of the industry

The sixth Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Alumni Association of Tourism Economics and Hospitality Management (Alumni ATEHM) of the Department of Economics, Faculty of Arts, University of Colombo was held recently (24 August) via Zoom online platform.

The Founder and the Coordinator of the Tourism Study Programs at the Department of Economics, Faculty of Arts, University of Colombo and the Chairman of the Executive Council of AATEHM Professor Suranga Silva, the academics of the tourism study programs: Professor Mubarak Kaldeen, Upali Rathnayake, Bandula Sumith, Sampath Siriwardena and the Directors of the International Tourism Leader’s Summit (ITLS) and the International Tourism Research Conference (ITRC), past office bearers/committee members, etc. were present at the occasion.

After the general proceedings of the AGM, the new Executive Council and the Executive Committee of Alumni ATEHM for the year 2021/2022 were elected respectively as below.

The Executive Council members are ITLS and ITRC Chairperson Professor D.A.C. Suranga Silva, ITLS and ITRC Senior Industry Advisor Upali Rathnayaka, ITLS and ITRC Senior Advisor – Special Projects T.B.B. Sumith, ITLS and ITRC Senior Advisor – Research and Publication/ITRC Co-Chair Prof. Mubarak Kaldeen, ITLS Senior Advisor – Finance/ITRC Conference Secretary Sampath Siriwardana, ITLS and ITRC Vice President – Alumni Affairs and Management Maj. Gen. (Retd.) Nimal Krishnaratne, ITLS and ITRC Vice President – International Relations, Education, Investment and Innovations Kasun Abeynayaka, ITLS and ITRC Vice President – Administration Chinthana Duminduhewa, and ITLS and ITRC Secretary General Madushan Jayathilake.

Executive Committee 

The President Major General (Retd.) Nimal Krishnaratne (Council member)

Vice President (1) Chinthana Duminduhewa (Council member)

Vice President (2) Gitanjali Chakravarthy

General Secretary Madushan Jayathilake (Council member)

Asst. Secretary (1) Anjali Caldera

Asst. Secretaries (2) Charith De Alwis

The Treasurer Anushka Perera

Assistant Treasurer (1) Kasun Meegahawatta 

Assistant Treasurer (2) Kasun Vithanage

Social Secretary (1) Dilan De Alwis

Social Secretary (2) Suranga Tennakoon

Editors (1) Priyantha Wedamulla

Editor (2) Navodi Karunarathna

Media Coordinator Brig. Lalith Jayasinghe

The newly-elected President of the Alumni, Major General Nimal Krishnaratne emphasised the fact that this time the association will be especially dedicated towards resilience building and sustainable tourism development of the industry due to the ongoing global pandemic of COVID-19. He believes that the newly-appointed members will lead to face these challenges effectively.

While congratulating the newly-appointed members of Alumni ATEHM, Prof. Suranga Silva appreciated the major contribution done by the former General Secretary of the Association, Kasun Abenayake towards uplifting the position of the Alumni ATEHM/and ITRC and the tourism study programs. 

Prof. Silva further requested everyone, to work together to contribute to the industry in these tough times where the Association will be valued by the industry. The Alumni ATEHM in current year must create an industry-policy dialogue to provide the necessary knowledge and intellectual contribution to empower the industry stakeholders for designing the most effective policy measures and management strategies for inclusive and sustainable tourism development while ensuring a strong recovery and resilience building of Sri Lanka Tourism.

With the intention of upgrading the tourism industry in Sri Lanka through an academic partnership, the Alumni ATHEM of University of Colombo was formed in 2015 under the guidance of Prof. Suranga Silva. The uniqueness in the Association members was that each and every member is not just a past student of the tourism programs conducted at the university but also the cream of all the sectors of travel, tourism and hospitality industry in the country including hotel, travel and airlines, DMCs, policymaking, community organisations, INGOs, academic and research, etc. 

Thus, the Association serves as the major professional forum to exchange valuable insights for the sustainability of the industry while providing a certain academic and intellectual recognition towards Sri Lanka Tourism.

The Association’s contribution in other tourism organisations, community organisations, NGOs and Government leads to develop regional tourism with international standards, taking regional tourism identity to the pinnacle of Sri Lanka Tourism. Thus, the Association network brings opportunities for its members for lifelong learning, professional development, broadening industry and professional network and connection.