Browsing by Author "Idroos, A.A."
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Item An Analysis of Barriers and Opportunities of Community-Based Tourism (Special Reference to Mannar District)(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2020) Croos, J.T.T.; Kumara, P.H.T.; Nawarathne, A.M.D.B.; Idroos, A.A.Tourism is a vital contributor to the economy of any nation and it is a prime foreign income earner. Community-based tourism (CBT) is a form of tourism that is generally small scale and involves interactions between visitors and the host community, particularly suited to rural areas. The communities in Mannar who depended on natural resources have not been benifited from tourism in terms of enhancing economic and social welfare in a positive way. Many tourism development initiatives have been designed but without incorporating the knowledge of local communities which is essential in the process. It is assumed that if tourism is going to make a positive change in the living standards of these communities, CBT can offer hope for a partnership between the investors and communities. Hence, the objective of the study was to analyse the current situation, barriers, and opportunities for CBT in Mannar. The purposeful sampling technique was used to select 15 respondents from government sectors, private sectors, and community members. A qualitative research design was adopted in this research. The information was derived from direct interviews and thematic analysis was utilized for data analysis. Findings indicated that the current situation of CBT in Mannar has interaction with the awareness of tourism and perception of CBT. The operational limitations, structural limitations, and cultural limitations were identified as barriers for CBT in Mannar. Beach, wildlife, historical sites, cultural activities and pilgrimage activities were identified as the opportunities for CBT in Mannar. There is a huge potential in Mannar to develop CBT by overcoming the barriers. An adequate government support and stakeholder participation (community participation) could help to accelerate CBT in Mannar. . Keywords: Community, Tourism development, Opportunities, ChallengesItem An Analysis of Impact of Rural Tourism Development on Local Communities in Sri Lanka (With Special Reference to Haputale Area)(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2021) Dissanayaka, D.M.M.S.; Idroos, A.A.Tourism is one of the important industries that help the development of local areas. Tourism results in more benefits to the local communities including improvements in their livelihood. However, active participation of local communities and proper coordination among all stakeholders are more important in gaining benefits from tourism activities, otherwise, it can be disturbed the activities of the local communities by tourism development. This research mainly aimed at identifying expected benefits of tourism, to identify the levels of impact and the problems and issues of local tourism development in the Haputale area. The study utilized a qualitative research approach with 30 samples in the community members in Haputale division. The researcher adopts the focus groups and structured interviews to gather primary data. Collected data were transcribed and analyzed manually using thematic analysis. According to the findings of the study, there were more economic benefits than the other social and cultural benefits and environmental benefits from tourism. The study found that tourism provides many employment opportunities for the residents in the area. Nevertheless, there were some problems and issues faced by the community and expectations such as the need for awareness programs, development of infrastructure facilities, agricultural facilities and economic resources and deforestation issues while developing rural tourism areas. Finally, there are some recommendations such as Regional development planning, Maximize the awareness about the importance of education, Provide public transport facilities where necessary to enhance accessibility, Government involvement of making policy framework to improve community participation in tourism benefit gaining in Sri Lanka. Keywords: Rural tourism; Tourism benefits; Local community; Problems and issueItem An Analysis of the Push and Pull Motives for Choosing Sri Lanka as the Wedding Tourism Destination: With Special Reference to Southern Province(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2019) Nawarathna, A.M.D.B.; Idroos, A.A.Events are becoming established as an integral and major part of tourism development and marketing strategies. Event tourism could be used to describe this phenomenon and this could be defined as the systematic development, planning, marketing and holding of events as tourist attractions. Wedding tourism has increased popularity over the past decade and is recognized as a significant market segment with a possibility of enhancing effectiveness of the industry by amalgamating two segments as one destination. Tourism motivations are important factors in understanding tourist behaviour in relation to selecting the destinations’ choice, especially for the wedding market. This is already existing niche market which has not been yet capitalized and can be developed as a diversified tourism product and the effects of seasonality can be minimized. Hence, the purpose of the study was to determine the various travel motivations of wedding tourists to Sri Lanka. The primary data collected by the author from 200 foreign tourists applying convenience sampling technique in Southern province. Quantitative data analytical method was employed in analysing the data using Descriptive statistics. The findings reflect that wedding tourists are primarily attracted by the destinations’ attributes such as the famous “sun, sea and sand” which forms part of the characteristics of small tropical islands, followed by other pull attributes. Further, push factors like destination marketing and promotion encouraged tourists to celebrate their wedding function and honeymoon in Sri Lanka. Increasing marketing efforts can prove to be a powerful mechanism in order to encourage the wedding tourism. Moreover, destination managers should better understand the travel motivations of tourists before developing and marketing product and services.Item Analyzing the Potentials of Promoting Rail Cruise Tourism in Sri Lanka: Special Reference to Up-country Rail Line(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2020) Kapugeekiyanage, K.W.P.; Deyshappriya, N.P.R.; Idroos, A.A.This study attempted to identify the potentials of promoting luxury rail cruise tourism as a novel tourism strategy in the up-country rail line to attract more tourists. Apart from that, the study also examined what were the main challenges of implementing rail cruise tourism in Sri Lanka. There are many tourist destinations such as Nine Arches Bridge, the Damodara Railway Loop, Nanuoya-Idalgashinna station which are located along the upcountry railway track. Therefore, the initialization of such rail cruise itinerary will attract many tourists to those cities and that will generate thousands of revenues to the Sri Lanka Railway as well as to the GDP of Sri Lanka. Both the empirical and knowledge gaps are filled by this research. The study used explanatory sequential mixed method. Data were collected through key informant interviews and a survey was conducted for 100 tourists using a convenient sampling technique. Mainly, descriptive statistics and thematic analysis were used to accomplish the objectives of the study. The database was developed in the SPSS software interface. The result of the study revealed that Sri Lanka has the potentials to promote rail cruise tourism and tourists had a positive perception of rail cruise tourism in Sri Lanka. However, the study also emphasized that there are several barriers related to infrastructure, organizational and technological barriers in relation to promoting rail cruise tourism in Sri Lanka. In conclusion, the study highlights the possibility of promoting rail cruise tourism in Sri Lanka, and hence government intervention to resolve the barriers related to rail cruise tourism is highly recommended. Keywords: Rail-cruise tourism, Niche tourism, Sri Lankan railway, Sri Lanka tourismItem Developing Mandaram Nuwara as a Rural Tourism Destination; Context, Perceptions and Potentials(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2021) Pathmasiri, G.T.T.; Deyshappriya, N.P.R.; Idroos, A.A.The Tourism sector significantly contributes to the Gross Domestic Production (GDP) of Sri Lanka by enhancing the service sector. The industry is also related to the community lifestyle and a significant amount of community inhabitants of Sri Lanka depend on the tourism industry. Hence, community based tourism has been recognized as an emerging trend in tourism, despite traditional tourism avenues are also important. However, community based tourism has not been paid sufficient attention as such destinations are located remotely with less facilities. The current study was conducted to identify the community perception on developing Mandaram Nuwara as a tourism destination and also its potential economic benefits. The required data were collected from 70 residents and 06 officials through conducting a survey and interviews respectively. The collected data were analyzed through a descriptive analysis and a thematic analysis. As the results of respondents it was concluded that, the tourism industry in Mandaram Nuwara is in a developing stage and the community perception is at a moderate level. Also, according to the study it is found that there are very few residents and other stakeholders in Mandaram Nuwara who are aware of the tourist resources and their potential. Their knowledge of the tourism industry as well as positive attitudes should be further developed. For that, the public sector should take the lead and build an efficiency mechanism. Also, through that mechanism, all interested parties should be integrated and a system should be built. The study also recommends that the existing resources in Mandaram Nuwara should be further promoted. Through that, it has the potential to generate benefits from the natural resources of the destination by attracting local and foreign tourists and attracting external investors. Also, the study emphasizes that Mandaram Nuwara could be transformed into a rural tourism destination village through further tourism-centric promotion and regulation of the existing agricultural lifestyle and other small scale industrial entrepreneurship (SME) in the area. Keywords: Potential benefits ; Community Perception ; Tourism mechanism ; Tourism regulation ; Rural Tourism ; Destination DevelopmentItem Does Begging Add Flavour to Tourism Destinations in Sri Lanka?(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2019) Wijesundara, W.G.S.R.; Danthanarayana, C.P.; Idroos, A.A.Begging has been identified as a major types of tourist harassment in many destinations in the world. And also, it is considered as a survival activity conducted by people who lack with other categories of income generating activities. Hence, various forms of begging exit in many tourism destinations treating it as a profitable profession from the beggars’ perspective and as a harassment from tourists’ perspective. As a popular tourist destination, currently, Sri Lanka faces this uncontrollable social and economic problem. Therefore, this study focus to identify the begging types and to analyze the tourists’ perspective on begging types exist in tourism destinations in Sri Lanka. The research area for the study was south coastal belt due to high number of tourist arrival and the many tourist harassment reported from the area. Tourists visiting south coastal belt being the research population, the sample was 200 tourists which were selected through stratified sampling technique. Primary data was collected through interviews and observations and data was analyzed using qualitative method. The results revealed that the most exist begging types were disabled, children, adult, busker and performance etc. Many respondents of the study agreed that begging forms like performance, vending and busker etc., represents the local culture and tradition by adding a flavor to the destination. Therefore, future research should be focused on quality enhancement of positive begging forms and reducing negative images traditionally associated with begging.Item Economic Impact of Tourism at Knuckles Forest Reserve; A Case Study in Atanwala Village(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2020) Mallawaarachchi, I.K.; Kumara, P.H.T.; Idroos, A.A.The Knuckles forest reserve has a favourable condition for nature-based tourism. Knuckles forest reserve can be accessed through three main entrances and ‘Atanwala’ entrance being the uprising entrance. Therefore, Atanwala entrance and Atanwala village were selected as the study area for this research. Also, the number of researches carried out in these areas is negligible. Hence this study was designed to investigate the economic impact of tourism at Knuckles forest reserve considering the case of Atanwala village. This study was mainly focussed on the economic impact of households who lives in Atanwala village and also to identify the community perception towards tourism, the current situation of tourism, and thereby to identify strategies for tourism development in Atanwala-Knuckles forest area. A judgemental sampling technique was used and dopting a mixed-method data were collected distributing questionnaires among the households who live in Atanwala-Knuckles forest area. Also, personal interviews were carried out for descriptive analysis. The findings of this study showed that all of the economic impact dimensions had significant positive effect. Further, the research found that the community showed a favourable stance for tourism development in the knuckles forest reserve and it helps the coordination of the recreation-based rural tourism development in the destination. Therefor, the policymakers should capitalize these opportunities to create several labor-intensive job opportunities for women, youth, poor and unskilled persons resinding the area. Keywords: Economic impact, Employment, Income, Knuckles, Eco tourismItem Identifying the Potentials to Promote Ayurvedic Tourism during the Covid 19 Pandemic (Special Reference to Western Province)(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2021) Chathumini, H.D.M.; Kulathilake, C.J.P.; Idroos, A.A.Ayurvedic tourism is one of the niche markets identified as a potential segment to promote in Sri Lanka and in recent times, there was a shift in attention towards Ayurveda due to the COVID 19 pandemic. However, the outbreak of COVID 19 pandemic has severely affected the progress of the tourism industry. Even though the number of tourists arriving Sri Lanka in 2019 has decreased, there has been a significant increase in the number of tourists arriving Sri Lanka for the purpose of Ayurveda treatment. In such a context, the aim of this study is to identify the potentials to promote Ayurvedic tourism during the COVID 19 pandemic. This study enabled us to make proper use of the resources of the country and to identify Ayurvedic business opportunities. The study mainly depends on the primary data that has been collected from the stakeholders. Primary data collected from 14 respondents in selected Ayurveda hotels who have registered in Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, Ayurveda centers, Ayurveda practitioners in the western province and Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority. The samples were selected using purposive sampling technique and structured interview techniques were used to analyze the collected data using content analysis. The results of the study showed that Sri Lanka has all the key elements: attraction, available packages, accessibility, amenities, activities and ancillary services to develop the Ayurvedic tourism industry. Further, Ayurvedic medicine, issues related to Ayurvedic doctors, government support, fraud committed by those involved in the Ayurvedic industry and promotions identified as barriers and challenges to promote Ayurvedic tourism. This study concludes with some recommendations for Ayurvedic tourism such as promotion in different countries, improving the knowledge of the staff, introducing new Ayurvedic related products with the COVID 19 pandemic, increasing government support etc. Keywords: Ayurvedic Tourism; COVID 19 Pandemic; Tourism Industry; StakeholdersItem Impact of Destination Attributes and Travel Motives on Destination Choice (With Special Reference to Free Independent Travelers in Southern province)(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2020) Abeysekara, K.S.; Kulathilake, C.J.P.; Idroos, A.A.Free Independent Travelers (FITs) classify as an important travel segment. They are referred to as leisure travelers. In Sri Lankan context although tourism arrivals and leisure tourists are increasing, tourism growth change has been decreasing. So, it is important to identify how destination attributes and travel motives are influenced the travel segment to select the destinations. The study aimed to investigate the impact of destination attributes and travel motives when they select the destinations in Southern province as a holiday choice. The objectives of the study were to identify the profile of independent travelers who are traveling to Southern province, to examine the relationship between destination attributes and destination choice, to examine the relationship between travel motives and destination choice, to identify the most and least destination attributes and travel motive factors influence on destination choice when they select the destinations in Southern province. Primary data were collected through self-administered questionnaires in Southern province. The purposive sampling method was used to collect data from 160 Independent travelers and quantitative data analysis method was used in analysing the data using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficient, and multiple leaner regression analysis. Salient findings of the study indicated that the demographic and profile of the travelers were significantly associated with independent travel styles. Destination attributes and travel motives showed a positive significant association on destination choice. Further, it revealed, other than activities, other attributes and travel motives significantly influenced on destination choice and attraction. Pull motives were mostly influence on destination choice of independent travelers in Southern province. Therefore, destination attributes and travel motives could be used in formulating promotional strategies and other policies to best satisfy their needs. Keywords: Free independent travelers (FITs), Destination attributes, Travel motives, Destination choiceItem Impact of Engagement in Leisure and Recreational Activities on the Undergraduates’ Performance; Evidence from Tourism Undergraduates in State Universities, Sri Lanka(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2021) Edirisinghe, E.A.I.M.; Karunarathne, A.C.I.D.; Idroos, A.A.Leisure & recreation is important to reduce stress and enhance the performance of anyone. Leisure is an important tool that is chosen by youngsters who are willing to deal with risk and adventure and their choice is supported by the youngsters who doubt engaging in risk and adventure. Undergraduates are a significant category within the youth and the education system. Learning and assessments, strikes, and financial burdens make them stressed. Hence, there should be some alternatives to overcome such stress, otherwise that will adversely affect their academic performance. Hence this research aims to examine the impact of leisure & recreational activities on the undergraduates‟ performance with the mediating impact of the stress of the undergraduates of tourism degree programs in state universities. The study was carried out quantitatively to get the outcome. Purposive sampling technique and simple random sampling technique was used to select the population and sample accordingly. A total of 200 respondents were given an online structured questionnaire representing undergraduates from tourism degree programs in state universities, Sri Lanka. The outcome obtained from the analysis illustrated leisure and recreational activities including home environment activities, sports, outdoor recreations and leisure tourism activities were individually impact positively on undergraduates performance with the significant P value (P < 0.05) while cultural activities and having high social content activities were jointly impact positively (P> 0.05) on undergraduate performance. Stress significantly mediated the relationship between leisure & recreational activities and undergraduates‟ performance. Their engagement in leisure and recreational activities help to reduce stress and enhance their performance. Accordingly, it can be concluded there is a positive relationship between the engagement in leisure and recreational activities and undergraduates‟ performance. This study shows that there should be an enhancement of engaging leisure and recreational activities as sports, especially the indoor sports activities, because most of the undergraduates are interested in engaging indoor sports when they are free. Furthermore, this study suggests that facilitating undergraduates to engage in leisure and recreational activities within university premises is necessary to reduce their stress. Keywords: Leisure; recreation; undergraduates‟ performance; stressItem Impact of Marketing Mix Factors in Tourists' Decision Making of Revisiting Sri Lanka (with special reference to beach tourism in southern province)(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2018) Idroos, A.A.; Damunupola, A.K.A.; Fernando, P.I.N.When comparing about the statistical reports of tourists arrivals and the beach tourist's percentages in recent years there is a decline in the percentage of beach tourists in Sri Lanka though there is a growth in tourist arrivals. The aim of this research is to study - the service marketing mix and how it influence on the tourists' decision to revisit Sri Lanka. The researcher has used a sample of 150 international tourists & selected by using convenient sampling technique. Researcher has used 5 different destinations including, Bentota, Hikkaduwa, Unawatuna, Mirissa and Tangalle by distributing the sample equally. Data related to demographic and marketing mix factors are gathered by using a questionnaire filled by the respondents. Researcher has used descriptive, correlation and regression analysis methods to analyze the data. According to the results of demographic characteristics of beach tourist most of them are young, well-educated and working in the private sector. Most of the tourists prefer swimming in the southern beaches. The analysis exposed that there was a positive relationship between all the marketing mix factors and tourists' tourism decision. The most influencing factor was the product, second highest influencing factor was the place and both of them having a strong positive relationship to the tourists' decision and the least influencing factor was the personnel second least influential factor was the physical evidence and both of them having weak positive relationship to the tourists' decision to revisit Sri Lanka. Price, Promotion and Process are having an average positive relationship towards the tourists' decision. The study recommends improving the promotion of Sri Lankan beach tourism in other countries, developing proper pricing strategy, improving beach tourism activities as well as the quality of beach tourism related products and to reduce the degree of pollution in local beaches.Item Impact of Marketing Mix Factors on Tourists’ Decision Making (With Special Reference to Beach tourism in Southern Province)(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2017) Idroos, A.A.Service marketing mix or the 7p's which include product, price, place, promotion, physical evidence and process can make a greater influence on the tourists tourism decision, therefore this research is going to consider about the service marketing mix and how it is affecting on tourists' tourism decision on beach tourism with special reference to southern province of Sri Lanka. By identifying the most effecting factors and least affecting factors that effects on beach tourism the service providers and the government can make changes in marketing activities as well as the policies related to beach tourism in Sri Lanka. To conduct this research researcher has used a sample of 150 international tourists who engaged in beach tourism activities in southern province of Sri Lanka. The sample is selected by using convenient sampling technique and researcher has used 5 different destinations including, Bentota, Hikkaduwa, Unawatuna, Mirissa and Tangalle and these five destinations are analyzed separately on the tourist preferences. To collect the primary data from the sample researcher has used a questionnaire filled by the respondents. For the analysis purpose researcher has used the SPSS software and all the data output were taken by using this software. In this research researcher is used data to identify the demographic characteristics of foreign tourist who engaged in beach tourism activities in southern province, the relationship between the marketing mix factors that and the tourists' tourism decision on beach tourism and finally the most and least influencing marketing mix factors that affecting on tourists tourism decisions on beach tourism. The analysis exposed that there was a positive relationship between all the marketing mix factors and tourist tourism decision on beach tourism. The most influencing factor was the product, second highest influencing factor was the place and both of them having a strong positive relationship to the tourists' tourism decision and the least influencing factor was the personnel second least influential factor was the physical evidence and both of them having weak positive relationship to the tourists' tourism decision. Price, Promotion and Process are having an average positive relationship towards the tourists' tourism decision on beach tourism. The study recommends improving the promotion of beach tourism in other countries, improving beach tourism activities as well as the quality of beach tourism related products and to reduce the degree of pollution in Sri Lankan beachesItem Passenger Service Agent’s Perception on Health and Safety Practices at CMB Airport during Covid 19 Pandemic(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2021) Kumarasiri, W.M.I.; Damunupola, A.K.A.; Idroos, A.A.The global aviation industry is one of the most sensitive industries in the globe. The serious spread of the Covid 19 pandemic across the globe introduced a new social distancing culture to the entire world. Since airport service staff are highly exposed to this virus with the travelling crowds this study aims to examine the effectiveness of newly introduced health and safety practices for the passenger service agents at the Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo, Sri Lanka (CMB). To in-depth understand the scenario study employed a qualitative approach while conducting structured interviews. Study gathered data from (X) respondents and analyzed them with thematic analysis. Accordingly, study findings revealed that pre Covid health and safety practices and novel practices positively contributed in maintaining an appropriate worker perception to conduct their job roles at the airport. In particular, the study findings will be useful for the front-line staff working in the tourism and hospitality industry to take necessary actions to prevent the rapidly spreading Coronavirus. Further, findings will disclose important health and safety related information to the HR managers, health authorities and other business stakeholder groups to better understand the critical situation. Further, findings will also provide valuable insights on the significance of establishing prompt monitoring mechanisms and implementing effective and preventive measures to control the spread of Covid-19 global pandemic Keywords: COVID-19, Airport service agents, Employee perception; Health and safety practicesItem A Study on Factors Influencing the Decline of Middle East Tourists’ Market in Sri Lanka: Stakeholders’ Perspective(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2020) Costha, K.K.W.M.; Kumara, P.H.T.; Nawarathna, A.M.D.B.; Idroos, A.A.Many people used to travel when they have their vacation to avoid the consistency of their lives. As declared by Lonely Planet, Sri Lanka is one of the world’s number one destination to visit in 2018. Sri Lanka is a leading travel destination for Middle East tourists. Even though Sri Lanka has paid attention to the Middle East market, it has not been able to achieve a significantly high number of arrivals from the Middle East. Hence, the main objective of this study was to identify the reasons for decline of Middle East tourists’ market in Sri Lanka. The researcher adopted the semi-structured interview to gather data about influencing factors of the decline of the Middle East tourist market. A sample of 15 stakeholders was selected using purposeful sampling method in which hoteliers, travel agents, tour and site guides, representatives from Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) and Promotion Bureau were interviewed. The views and opinions of the respondents were collected through the interviews. The analysis was done through thematic analysis and the researcher identified safety and security, facilities, attractions, marketing strategies, services, and other issues as the main themes. The findings revealed that the dissatisfaction of safety and security, lack of facilities, lack of manmade attractions, limitation of night functions, dissatisfaction of the hotel and guide services, lack of marketing strategies, and other issues such as terrorism and restrictions have attributed significantly to decline the Middle East tourists’ market in Sri Lanka. Furthermore, implementing new rules and giving special attention for the Middle East tourists’ expectation can turn around the situation and promote the Middle East market. Keywords: Middle East tourists’ market, influencing factors