The ceremonial event of the World Tourism Day Celebrations 2024 organized by the final year undergraduates of the Hospitality, Tourism and Events Management degree programme of the Department of Tourism Studies, Faculty of Management of Uva Wellassa University in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism – Uva Province was held on 28th October 2024 at the university premises. The world tourism day is annually celebrated on 27th September under different themes and this year, it was celebrated under the theme of “Tourism & Peace”. Senior Professor. Kolitha Wijesekara, Vice Chancellor of Uva Wellassa University graced the occasion as the Chief Guest and Mr. Dmitri Cooray, Managing Director of Jetwing Hotels delivered the Keynote address at the ceremonial event. During the ceremony, the 4th volume of the WOW Magazine, an annual publication by the Department of Tourism Studies, and a destination promotion video on Bogoda Wooden Bridge, the oldest surviving wooden bridge in Sri Lanka, were launched.
Further, two panel discussions on “Building Bridges in a Divided World” and “Tourism as a Pathway to Understanding” were conducted in parallel to the tourism day ceremonial event with the participation of leading industry and academic experts nationwide. The sessions were moderated by Prof. Ruwan Ranasinghe Dean/Faculty of Management and Mr. Dhananjaya Nawarathna, Head/Department of Tourism Studies of Uva Wellassa University. Distinguished invitees from various academic and government institutes, industry professionals, schools and undergraduates participated in this event.