The Clarks Hotels and Resorts appoints Gabriel David Gunesekere as Head Development – Sri Lanka, Maldives and International

The Clarks Hotels and Resorts is happy to announce the appointment of Mr. Gabriel David Gunesekere as Head Development Hotels & Resorts – Sri Lanka, Maldives & International. He will be responsible for negotiating management contracts, branding, recruiting the Teams in certain geographical locations with a focus on the expansion of properties in Sri Lanka & the Maldives with representations internationally, according to Hotelier India.

Gabriel also has a key interest towards continuous education having followed many Tourism studies and workshops especially with the World Tourism Organization (WTO) in Qatar, Accor Academy Dubai. Currently he is pursing online MBA from The Staffordshire University U.K., Hotelier India reported.

He has worked with renowned brands such as The French hotel group –Accor Hotels Qatar / The Gulf Region promoting different brands of Accor Hotels, Swiss-Belhotel International, Bahrain, Millennium hotel, Abu Dhabi. Jebel Ali Resorts Dubai, The Kingsbury Hotel Colombo, Sri Lanka, The Rose Garden Hotel Yangon, Myanmar etc.

His experience is also extended towards Inbound Tourism in - Oman, The Maldives and Sri Lanka. Gabriel holds a Flying License and speaks French, Intermediate German and a few other Languages.

Prior to the present assignment, he was working as Director of Sales & Marketing for The Kingsbury Hotel Colombo, Sri Lanka and The Rose Garden Hotel, Yangon, Myanmar.

During his work tenure he significantly increased the corporate, MICE & leisure segment revenues and improved both the positioning of hotels and the sales teams alike, according to Hotelier India.

Gabriel Gunesekere shares with Hotelier India, “I must say that I am indeed excited to join The Clarks Hotels & Resorts, especially when the group has planned to focus on an expansion drive overseas. Due to my prior work experience in hospitality that is spread across many countries internationally, I can understand the intricacies of different cultures and business segments similarly. Considering the post pandemic period, we can certainly see a huge shift taking place especially in the hospitality sector. Travelers are now looking for safer protocols in health-related areas that include up-market properties. Customers are also more demanding and tech-savvy and select properties with international standards and quality properties. We are delighted to mention that we are always happy to tie-up with those properties that also align together with our brand values. We want to ensure these properties provide the same level of hospitality for which The Clarks Hotels & Resorts share and portray.”

Further negotiations are currently in the pipeline for new property tie-ups with The Clarks Hotels & Resorts Network both in Sri Lanka & the Maldives with other key geographical locations etc.

In ATM Dubai, May 2022

In Maldives, September 2022

In front of the Austrian Embassy in New Delhi, India, Nov. 2022