Further strengthening collaboration between the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) - the apex tourism body in the world -and the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, a UNWTO consultant has been appointed to work with the Sri Lankan tourism authorities on bolstering several sectors of the country’s tourism industry.

Lionel Becherel, the UNWTO Consultant appointed for Sri Lanka, has over 30 years of experience in the global tourism sector, 25 years of which in tourism development consultancy.

He has led and worked on projects worldwide for major international executing and donor agencies such as UNWTO, UNDP, EU, JICA and others and specializes in formulation of tourism strategies and development plans, marketing strategies, ecotourism strategies and human resources strategies in destinations across the world.

He will mainly look into areas such as scoping mission for a Tourism Master Plan that will complement the 2017-2020 three year Tourism Strategic Plan, setting up conditions to develop a Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) for Sri Lanka, carrying capacity study at popular tourist sites to introduce a visitor management system,  formulation of a community tourism strategy for Sri Lanka, plans to expand tourism and hospitality training provision in the country and recommendations on adapting coastal forts for tourism use.

Becherel has already held discussions and shared his insights with Tourism Development and Christian Affairs Minister John Amaratunga, Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) Chairman Kavan Ratnayaka and several other key officials and stakeholders of the industry.

Commenting on the UNWTO initiative, SLTDA Chairman Kavan Ratnayaka extended his gratitude to the UNWTO for appointing a consultant for Sri Lanka to strengthen the tourism industry, currently on an ambitious path to double its revenue and employment opportunities by 2020.

“UNWTO’s expertise and insights will add great value to Sri Lanka Tourism, in terms of tapping into our untapped potential in many areas. This collaboration will go a long way and we believe the UNWTO will be great source of strength and inspiration for us, when accomplishing our three-year mission,” Ratnayaka said, adding that Sri Lanka was keen on learning from experience and expertise of global tourism experts.