Sri Lankan tourism professional Hiran Cooray on top WTM panel discussion
View(s):Hiran Cooray, Chairman, Jetwing Hotels Ltd and Sri Lanka’s best known tourism professional, has been invited to speak at this year’s International Institute for Peace Through Tourism (IIPT) World Travel Market (WTM) event “Cultivating Sustainable and Peaceful Communities and Nations through Tourism, Culture and Sports” in London this month.
Hiran Cooray
This special event will be held on November 5. “I am ever ready to bat for Sri Lanka,” Mr. Cooray said laughingly, when asked about the invitation. He is in fact a former opening batsman for St. Joseph’s College and also played club cricket.The well-known hotelier was last week inducted as the new President of the Tourist Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL), a position he has held on three previous occasions. He is also the past Chairman of the PATA
Mr. Cooray is expected to discuss the lessons learned following 25 years of conflict in Sri Lanka and the role of tourism in reconciliation and socio-economic re-development.
Other panellists at the event include: Dr. Taleb Rifai, Secretary General, U.N. World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO); Martin Craigs, CEO Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA); Ambassador Yamina Karitanyi, Head of Tourism and Conservation, Rwanda; and Ms. Wahida Jaiet, Managing Director of the Tunisian National Tourist Office (TNTO). Professor Geoffrey Lipman, President, International Coalition of Tourism Partners (ICTP) will be the Moderator.