Abstract:
ABSTRACT
Fashion industry is a worldwide industry that produces and sells clothing, and it is one of
the most influential phenomena in the globe. People travel to grasp, experiment with, and
consume fashion as part of fashion tourism. One of its major segments can be named as
Traditional Fashion Tourism. Hence, this study is to identify the potentials to promote
Kandy city as a traditional fashion tourism destination in Sri Lanka. Research objectives
are to identify the scope of traditional fashion tourism and to investigate the traditional
fashion industry stakeholders’ perspective on potentials to promote traditional fashion
tourism in Kandy city. Primary data were collected from the 15 selected fashion and
tourism industry stakeholders in Kandy city. Snowball sampling was used to formulate the
sample and semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. Under the qualitative
research approach, collected data were transcribed and analyzed by using the thematic
analysis method. The findings of the study illustrated that to recognize the scope of
traditional fashion tourism sector, opportunities, and challenges to promote Kandy as a
traditional fashion tourism destination in Sri Lanka and the future directions of this sector.
Further, this study recommends some policy implications such as creating a strong
manufacturing base to support the fashion, conducting awareness programs, creating a
comprehensive national tourism policy plan, and implementing a specialized market
segment completely for the designers.
Key Words: Fashion Industry, Traditional Fashion Tourism, Traditional Fashion Tourism
Destination
