THASL Chief on best way forward for Sri Lanka tourism
View(s):THASL -The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka held its 54th Annual General Meeting last week, with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as the Chief Guest and Emirates Airline President Tim Clark as the keynote speaker.
THASL President Sanath Ukwatte was re-elected for the fourth consecutive time, and at the post-AGM banquet, he traced the recent success of Sri Lanka tourism as well as outlining several challenges and THASL’s suggestions to overcome those. Below are excerpts of Ukwatte’s address.
Addressing the gathering at th THASL AGM, Mr .Ukwatta acknowledged some of the tourism legends of the industry who have contributed to its growth and prosperity. People like Herbert Cooray, George Ondaatjie, Saparamadu, Askar Moosajee, Cyril Gardiner, Prof. Tony Furkhan, Ratna Sivaratnam U.K. Edmund of Mount lavinia Hotel were remembered at the speech delivered by Sanath Ukwatte.
He said, I feel honoured today to represent this prestigious Association, The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka, for the fourth consecutive time as its President. This is our 54th annual gathering, and for a little over half a century, this Association has been represented by men and women who have dedicated their blood, sweat, and money to get where we are today. We are an industry that has inspired so many. Our industry, which is very much homegrown, is built on generations of people who have committed themselves to hard work and the prosperity of our motherland.
‘These past legends came from diverse backgrounds, different religions, ethnicities and from across the country. But they all had one thing in common. They had faith. Faith in our industry, faith in our country and most of all, faith in our people’ he added.