Abstract:
Tourism is a vital contributor to the economy of Sri Lanka, as it being a prime foreign income earner. With a gradual yearly growth, tourism industry is steadily securing a spot in the economy of a nation. The purpose of this study is to explore the opportunities of community-
based tourism (CBT) in Mannar towards existing barriers. The communities in Mannar, who are dependent on natural resources, have not been affected by tourism in terms of economic and social welfare in a positive way. Several tourism development initiatives have been designed without any mechanism to incorporate their knowledge and needs in the process. The communities in Mannar, who are also highly dependent on natural resources, have not been affected by tourism in terms of economic and social welfare in a positive way. Their livelihood has remained as sub-standard as ever before. The research has three major objectives, to analyze the current situation of CBT in Mannar, to analyze the barriers of CBT in Mannar and to analyze the opportunities community-based tourism in Mannar. Data collected by the researcher from 15 members in government sectors, private sectors and the community members. Structured interview questions were used with purposeful sampling technique. Qualitative data analytical method was employed and the collected data were transcribed and analyzed by using thematic Analysis. Findings of this study has shown that, there exist several opportunities and barriers for CBT in a community. Some of these opportunities are; eradication of poverty, increase income, community empowerment, enhance standard of living of local community and job opportunities. It was also found that, there are certain barriers that serve as hindrance in the implementation of CBT. For example; lack of adequate consultation of stakeholders, illiteracy, lack of tourism and business skills, top- down development and poor and unfair partnership agreement.
Key words: Current situation, Barriers, Opportunities
