Veteran Hotelier Chandra Mohotti has been appointed Chairman, Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management (SLITHM), with effect from June 1, 2012.
Informed sources said that the letter of appointment had been delivered to the veteran hotelier on Friday, after he was handpicked for the job by Economic Development Minister, Basil Rajapaksa.
Mohotti replaces Nalaka Godahewa, who will continue as Tourism Development Authority Chairman.
The SLITHM is one of four arms that were established to develop the tourist sector and service related organizations under the Tourism Act of 2007. A few names including politicians have been mentioned to head the other two bodies, namely the Tourism Promotion Bureau and Conventions Bureau.
Mohotti, who rose through the ranks began his career with the Hotel Ceylon Inter Continental in 1973, shortly after leaving St. Thomas College, Mount Lavinia where he studied. He is currently Senior Vice President at the Galle Face Hotel Management Company. He is also a Director of Kandy Hotels Company which owns the Queens and Suisse Hotels in Kandy and a Warden in the Consular Section of the Embassy of the United States of America.
Trained in Hotel Management by international hotel chains such as Inter - Continental, Meridien and Marriott, both in Sri Lanka and abroad, Mohotti is a fellow of the British Confederation of Tourism and Hospitality, member of the Task Force Committee and National Council for Enhanced Development - the high profile policy making body for Sri Lanka Tourism and Development. He was also a Vice President (Tourism and Hotel Sector) of the Employers Federation for many years.
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