Abstract:
This study is mainly to identify the community perception and their involvement in the tourism development activities. Research was carried out at Kalpitiya, one of the planned tourism development site in Sri Lanka, adopting the qualitative research. A survey was conducted using a semi structured questionnaire with 100 respondents from the local community. The local community of Kalpitiya area consists of 31 GN divisions which has been considered as a population for the survey. And it will be taken 100 of respondents from the total population of local community, which was considered for the survey. The findings indicate that more benefits have been brought to the area due to the ongoing tourism development activities, however the local community is not in a position to get the real benefits of the tourism development due to lack of proper education, knowledge, experience, capacity etc. The community bear mixed perception about the ongoing development in the study area. On the other hand, those who get benefits through tourism hold positive perception and attitudes while those who have not received any tangible benefits hold negative attitudes about the tourism development. The results highlighted that, it is necessary to have a well-planned awareness program about the community involvement for the ongoing tourism development activities. Therefore, the authorities should concern more about the community awareness and capacity building programs in order to deliver the benefits of tourism development to the local community also to ensure the long term sustainability of the industry.
