Dr. M.S.M Aslam is a Senior Lecturer attached to the Department of Tourism Management at the Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka (SUSL) and also he is the Director of Centre for Research and Knowledge Dissemination (CRKD), SUSL and the Chairman, Board of Postgraduate Studies at Faculty of Management Studies.
He took his primary and secondary education at his village school, Nooraniya M.M.V, Uyanwatta, Dewanagala and obtained his bachelor degree B.Sc. Business Studies (Specialization in Tourism Management) from Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka in 1998.
He has completed M.Sc. in Management at University of Sri Jayawardenapura in Sri Lanka and obtained his doctoral of philosophy (PhD) in tourism from Universiti Putra Malaysia under the title “Contribution of Tourism to Sustainable Rural Development in Sri Lanka”.
He also has worked for a pioneer travel agency/inbound tour operator in Sri Lanka before he joined the university.
Dr. Aslam has been teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate levels a number of subjects such as management process, strategic management, research methodology, tourism planning, resort planning and management, tourism marketing, and tourism resources and recreation, while supporting soft-skills development of the students.
He has carried out a number of researches and publication in different areas of tourism, such as role of inbound travel agencies, sustainable tourism development, tea tourism, sustainable rural tourism development, spice and herbs tourism, historic lodging, tourism planning and development, heritage motoring tourism, enterprising rural tourism.
Aslam has contributed for a number of popular international and national tourism conferences.
He also has published his researches individually and jointly in reputed international journals, such as Journal of Heritage Tourism, Journal of Tourism Policy, International Journal of Economic and Financial Issues. In addition he has contributed chapters for edited books on Spice Tourism, Uncovering the Truths, Motoring Heritage Tourism, and Sustainable Tourism in Global South.
Dr. Aslam also serves as a resource person/advisor/consultant for national, provincial, local and community level tourism planning and development in Sri Lanka.
He is the chief consultant for five year tourism development plan 2016-2020 in Ampara and Batticaloa Districts of Sri Lanka and He is also sector consultant for district development of Batticaloa district of Sri Lanka. He serves as national consultant of homestay tourism for Ministry of Tourism in Sri Lanka.
He was in the ministry advisory board on community based tourism development in Sri Lanka from 2008 to 2010 and at present he is a member of academic board of Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hospitality Management.
He was a member of consultant team for development of Five Year Tourism Master Plan 2009-2014 for Sabaragamuwa Province and Integrated Regional Development Plan for Sabaragamuwa Province 2013 – 2018. He has also served as a co-chairman and a member of Scientific Committee for 7th and 8th Tropical Tourism Outlook Conference. He has been recognized and invited by authorities and NGOs as a resource person for a number of capacity building programmes in various parts of the country.