SATA 2018 Evaluations begins with an all women Expert Panel

SATA 2018 Evaluations begins with an all women Expert Panel
A panel of multi national experts chosen by SATA for 2018 Edition will be evaluating the MALDIVES based nominees from 19th till 24th June at Mookai Hotel. The Jury for 3rd Annual SATA Awards is composed of 3 high-profile individuals and is divided in based on the number of nominees from major destination who have enrolled. They are chosen on the basis of their entrepreneurial experience, their achievements and their commitment to supporting and knowledge about the tourism and service industry.

They play a key role in reviewing the nominees and selecting the finalists during the Awards competition. The jury members then give feedback through an online system designed for evaluation process with individual login. Expert Panel :Mrs.Amal Goonetilleke Mrs. Rinku Madan Mrs. Hinna Khalid Mrs.

Amal Goonetilleke Over 3 decades of experience in the field of Tourism and hospitality, specialized in Sales and Marketing for hotels and resorts. Presently a Marketing Consultant to hospitality companies with local and International affiliations. She is well versed with multiple disciplines of Sales and Marketing across global markets and segments such as Corporate, MICE, Leisure, Revenue Management etc. and creating sales and marketing solutions for star class hotels to top end luxury boutique resorts.

She is recognized and respected as one of the leaders in the sales and marketing hospitality space in the country. She held the position of Vice President – The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka, was a Board Member of the Sri Lanka Promotions Bureau, held the position of Vice President of Colombo City Hotels Association and Chairperson – PATA Sri Lanka Chapter. In recognition of her contribution to the industry she was the recipient of the “Zonta Woman of Achievement Award for Tourism” in 2009 and in 2015 was the recipient of “Women in Management - Tourism Gold Award”. Graduated from the University of Kelaniyaafter reading for a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, French and Mass Communication.

Mrs. Rinku Madan Rinku Madan, recently completed her studies in Global Journalism at the Harvard University, with the objective to pursue her writing skills in the area of Global Luxury. She had earlier studied at the French Culinary Institute to certify in the arena of Food Writing. Having worked with luminaries like Alan Richman and Andrew Fischer, she is amongst the very few certified food writers in India with global experience in the subject. She has also recently studied ‘Sparkling wine making’ with one of India’s leading Winery.

Her penchant for understanding food and other finer aspects of life commenced more than a decade ago, as the Chef at a 7 Star Members Only Restaurant. This was followed by her stint as the Editor of ‘Times Nightlife Guide’, She further honed her journalism skills’ through weekly columns at The Economic Times and The Sunday Times, also leading business and general dailies in the Times Group fold and the BBC Good Food Guide. She was also a producer at the CNN International Bureau, New Delhi for a brief period. Her experience of writing feature articles in food, restaurants, cuisines, luxury properties enhanced her skills and pursue “Luxury” as a focus area, not only as a writer but also a Food Stylist and Consultant in the field of Food and Beverage.

Mrs. Hinna Khalid Hinna Khalid, a Professional consultant, Researcher, Lecturer and writer who has contributed immensely in Educating and empowering people. She did her Masters in Arts in Applied Social Research, at University of West of England- UK, Post Graduate Diploma in Social Science Research Methods in University of Bristol, Post Graduate Diploma in PHC Management at MahidolUniversity. She has experience in the central government for more than 25 years, working at policy level, overlooking & managing institutions.

Her experience in work also includes collaboration and working with UNDP, WHO, ROSA, UNICEF, IMF and World Bank representatives and other stake holders and different partners. She has made contributions in many trainings and represented in many panels. Notably as a Jury member; in Maldives National Awards, awarded by the government and jury for UNDP activities in the Maldives. She has made contributions to policy dialogues and advisory functions, in Ministry of Gender, Ministry if Home affairs, Male City council and in President Office Heading the Vice President Secretariat. She was the focal person for the commonwealth and the Project coordinator for decentralization and regionalization projects. She is also the focal point for CASADE FP7 EU Projects. She is now a Doctoral Student of Philosophy at Management and Science University, Malaysia (MSU).

Evaluation : Each property / service has been invited to come and do a presentation about the categories they have nominated for South Asian Travel Awards, where as the expert panel will be voting and scoring based on the outcome and what’s being presented. Leading Hospitality brands in MALDIVES are competing with the regional brands from India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan at SATA.

The Grand Finale of SATA 2018 will be held in the business capital of India, “Mumbai” from 14th - 15th September celebrating the best of South Asian Hospitality.