Dr. Athula Gnanapala is a Professor in Tourism Management attached to the Dept. of Tourism Management, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. Currently, he serves as the Dean of the Faculty of Management Studies and the Faculty coordinator of the Internal Quality Assurance Unit (IQAU) of the university. He obtained his first degree, B.Sc. Tourism Management, form the Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka and the M.Sc. in Management from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. Further he has completed his Doctoral degree in Tourism Management at the Xiamen University, P.R. China.

His research interests include consumer behavior in tourism including motivation & satisfaction, sustainable tourism planning & development, tourism and green marketing and Prof. Gnanapala has published his research findings in national and international reputed publications.