Tourism industry veteran Upali Ratnayake has been appointed the new Director General of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), the apex body of the Sri Lanka tourism sector.
Ratnayake has worked at the state tours entity for over 23 years and for over a decade he has served at the organization's top tier of decision making as the Director Planning & Domestic Tourism and as the Director Quality & Assurance.
Having graduated from the University of Colombo, Ratnayake completed his MBA in Thailand on Tourism and Hospitality. He completed his Post Graduate Diploma in Belgium and also underwent a special training on Green-Eco tourism in Japan and Australia.
He is vastly experienced in areas such as national tourism planning, development of investment projects, domestic tourism and resort management, tourism standards and quality assurance, research, tourism training and special projects engagements.
The new Director General has represented Sri Lanka in internationals seminars and conferences in the
US, J
apan, Germany, Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, India, UK, South Korea, Singapore, Cambodia, Italy, Qatar and China
.
He has also authored several books, publications and research
.
articles on tourism and tourism related fields.
Ratnayake succeeds Malraj B. kiriella who relinquished his position as the Director General of Sri Lanka Tourism earlier this year.
