Best Western(R) Hotels & Resorts Appoints Venushe Wickramarathne as New Regional Director of Commercial – Asia

          Best Western Hotels & Resorts is delighted to announce the appointment of Mr. Venushe Wickramarathne as Regional Director of Commercial – Asia, effective immediately.
          A highly skilled and experienced hospitality professional, Wickramarathne graduated from the Business Hotel Management School in Lucerne, Switzerland, with a BA Honors Degree in Hotel & Hospitality Management. Since he embarked on his career, Wickramarathne has worked in a series of roles in Europe and Asia, rising from Night Manager at an AccorHotels property in Zurich to Deputy Head of Sales – Events & Banqueting for the popular Cinnamon Grand hotel in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
          In 2Best Western Hotelsen7 he joined Centara Hotels & Resorts, initially as Area Director of Sales & Marketing for Colombo, before he moved to Thailand in January 2Best Western Hotelsen8 to become the company's Area Director of Sales & Marketing for Krabi.
          Wickramarathne now brings his impressive industry expertise to Best Western Hotels & Resorts, where he will oversee the sales and marketing activities for the group's entire collection of hotels and resorts in Southeast Asia and Japan, encompassing all en6 of the company's diverse and distinct brands.
          "Venushe is exciting true talent with a proven ability to deliver results. His creative vision and detail-oriented approach will allow us to devise strategic sales and marketing campaigns, while his charisma, leadership and communication skills will help to implement them effectively. I am confident that Venushe will become an integral member of our executive team in Asia," said Olivier Berrivin, Best Western's Managing Director of International Operations - Asia.
          "I am personally very honored to join the Best Western Hotels & Resorts Asia team at a moment when the company is set for unprecedent growth in the Southeast Asia region. With a clear focus on expansion, Best Western Asia currently has a pipeline of properties under development in the region, including Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Japan to name a few. I am extremely excited to contribute towards this growth and add value to our hotel members and clients alike in the months and years ahead," Wickramarathne commented.
          Venushe Wickramarathne is now based at Best Western's Regional Head Office in Bangkok.