Earning a rare honor to the Sri Lanka hospitality landscape, Managing Director, Island Leisure Lanka Pvt Ltd, Chandana Amaradasa was appointed as a board member to one of United Kingdom’s largest travel companies, Teletext Holidays. He is the first Sri Lankan to be appointed to a position of this nature in the British travel sector. The company established in 1992 was owned by Teletext Ltd and initially operated as a teletext service before transitioning to an online platform in the 2010s. Prior to 1992 Teletext services were available via television sets on the BBC, ITV and Channel 4. The company had around 2,700 employees prior to the COVID pandemic.
Teletext Holidays has received industry recognition, including the “Best Online Travel Agent” award at the British Travel Awards in 2018 and 2019. It was also recognized for “Best All Inclusive Holiday Company” in 2019, and received an award for “Best Use of TV” at The Travel Marketing Awards the same year. The company has studied promotions, destination campaigns and international events hosted by Amaradasa before appointing him to this Board Position. This appointment also indicates that British companies are keen on inputs from Sri Lanka travel sector professionals. Former Manager at Taj Group of Hotels and a graduate at the Hospitality Management at faculty of Tourism & Hotel Management Amaradasa said, “I am honored to be appointed as a Board member to this prestigious Teletext Holidays Board.” Island Leisure is the first ever accredited member of IAGTO for Sri Lanka, which is the largest Golf Tourism Association in the world and was also appointed as the official Hospitality Partner for Sri Lanka Cricket until the end of 2021.
