UWU Repository :: Browsing by Author "Ranasinghe, J.P.R.C."

Browsing by Author "Ranasinghe, J.P.R.C."

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Analysis of Competitiveness in Hotel Industry with Special Reference to the North Central Province
(Uva Wellassa University of Srilanka, 2011) Wattewewa, N.U.D.P.; Ranasinghe, J.P.R.C.
Note: See the PDF Version The service sector being the highest contributor in the Sri Lankan economy which contributed 59.3% of gross domestic production (GDP) in 2009, under the service sector hotels and restaurants services contribution was 0.4% in 2009 (Central Bank of Sri Lanka, annual report, 2009). Sri Lanka tourism board statistical report indicates that tourists' arrival to Sri Lanka during the year 2009 was 447,890. It is increased of 9415 or 2.1% when considering the previous year. The industry is confronted more and more with growing competition on a global level, a fast advance in technology and greater expectations from the clients. Most hotel companies have improved internal operations, raising quality and reducing costs. These companies are now preoccupied with the development of their competitive advantage through various sources. At the same time, these sources become factors which influence competitiveness. (Claudia-Elena, Juclea and Ana-Mihaela, Padurean) Tourism industry is an emerging industry in Sri Lanka after the resolution of internal problems by which the industry was suffering for nearly three decades. The competition among hotels is becoming more intensive to enter into the growing market (Central Bank of Sri Lanka 2009). Present study is an attempt to analyze the Competitiveness in the hotel industry. Further, it is aimed at analyzing the extent to which hoteliers have perceived the competitiveness under the prevailing circumstances.
Analysis of value in Delivery Process in Hotel Industry: A Special Reference to Star Classified Hotels in Colombo, Kalutara and Galle Districts
(Uva Wellassa University of Srilanka, 2011) Paranavithana, K.N.; Ranasinghe, J.P.R.C.
Customer satisfactio n is of pivotal for serv ice industries that provide an idea about the level of performance. Moreover, it will uncover the custoiaaers’ perception o I the services pro›'ided as against the customer expectations. In an intcnsi›'ely coi4ipetitivc brlsiilcss such as hospita lity, the main strategy which c‹in attract more c ustonaei's is customer relationsl4 ips. Measurement of customer sat is faction of a service could be performed by using the gap between the customer's expectation of perforn48nce and their perceived experience of perforiunnce (Ekinci and Riley, 1 998). Primary purpose of this research was to identify whether there is a relationship between service qual ity of val ale in delivery process and guest’s overa11 satisfaction in hotel industry. Further, it examines the interrelationship of services to understand guests’ actual image on Value in Delivery Process & to p rovide managerial implications on custoiiier value approach.
Community Based Tourism as A Tool for Rural Economic Development in Hiniduma Area
(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2019) Mahaarachchie, S.L.; Ranasinghe, J.P.R.C.
Tourism can make a significant impact on rural communities as the customer comes to the facility or product creating a room for direct selling/engagement for the host communities. Accordingly community based tourism emerged as a possible solution to the mass tourism in developing countries, which thus became a strategy for communities in order to develop rural economies. Therefore, this research exploited the opportunities for rural economic development through community based tourism in Hiniduma area and identifying the most influencing challenges when developing community based tourism as a new concept. The research adopted the quantitative approach to data analysis, especially using multiple regression analysis. The primary data were gathered by using standard format questionnaires. The sample consisted of 120 respondents who are engaging with different kind of community based tourism activities in Hiniduma. The major objective of the study is to identify the potentials for rural economic development through Community based tourism in Hiniduma. The result of the analysis indicates that, there is a higher potential for rural economic development through Community Based Tourism. In addition in that study include two hypotheses. According to hypothesis testing researcher identified that there is an impact on Socio economic factors to the rural economic development. As the second objective of research aimed at identifying the most influencing challenges for CBT.The study found that lack of knowledge about CBT concept, lack of e-commerce awareness, lack of financial support from financial institutes, lack of family members support, and also lack of money to invest as the major challenges in developing community based tourism in Hiniduma. As recommendations author proposed develop agro tourism, volunteer tourism, nature based tourism in hiniduma and river Gin can use as a major option. Furthermore responsible parties should give attention to the major challenges.
Community Perception and Support for Wildlife Tourism: Empirical Evidence from Udawalawe National Park
(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2020) Weerasinghe, K.S.; Ranasinghe, J.P.R.C.
Wildlife-viewing has become a popular nature-based tourism activity worldwide providing opportunities for tourists to enjoy wildlife in natural habitats such as protected areas, marinas, and underwater settings. Equally, the significance of wildlife-related activities is increasing though little empirical evidence is available in Sri Lanka. It is critical to understand what drives residents’ support for such activities to design successful wildlife tourism activities. The main purpose of this study was to examine residents’ attitudes and participation in wildlife tourism and to explore factors that affect residents’ support and participation in tourism-related activities around Udawalawe National Park in Sri Lanka. 160 local residents in the study area were the respondents to the self-administered questionnaire. The data were analysed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with smart PLS and SPSS tools. The findings revealed that there was a significant relationship between community participation and community perceived impacts. Hence, there was a significant relationship between community participation and support for wildlife tourism and there was no significant relationship between the perceived impact and wildlife tourism support. It can be concluded that community participation can be increased by the education level of residents to understand their rights and the need for greater participation in the decision-making process. Thus, the study argues that increased education and understanding of the importance of wildlife of local residents can result in successful wildlife tourism in a community. A qualitative approach to understanding deeper thoughts, attitudes, and feelings of individuals is recommended as a future research area to further understand this context. Keywords: Wildlife tourism, Community participation, Community perceived impact, Tourism support
Customer Relationship Management Tools and Customer Satisfaction in the Hotel Industry (With Special Reference to Kandy District)
(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2010) Shameer, M.N.A.; Ranasinghe, J.P.R.C.
The one of the main objective of the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is to delight the customers. Today most organizations think that expenses on CRM will erode the profitability and some CRM implementations can be failed. This study was carried out at the hotels situated in Kandy district. In those hotels application of the CRM is at satisfactory level and all of them are trying to achieve overall efficiency in delivering the service while maximizing their returns. Customer satisfaction levels with respect to the CRM are measured by a descriptive analysis with a measurement of a 5 point Likert scale system with relate to ten mentions. It has shown that the customers are almost satisfied with the overall services they received from the hotels. Management of hotels has some positive impact on there CRM initiations. The hoteliers personally believe that they have the necessary competencies for continuing their CRM initiations and prefer to update them self s with CRM improvements.
The Customer Relationship Management Tools and Customer Satisfaction in the Hotel Industry; With Special Reference to Kandy District
(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2010) Shameer, M.N.A.; Ranasinghe, J.P.R.C.
Customer relationship management (CRM) is one of the critical factors used to satisfy the customers in particular in service industries. Today most organizations spend on CRM will erode the profitability of the companies rather than maximizing customer satisfaction and some times CRM implementations can be failed. Yet, one of the main objectives of CRM is to delight the customers. Many hoteliers adopt CRM techniques to overcome competition and other obstacles faced at the market place and this study endeavor to check the real contribution of CRM tools to customer satisfaction addressing foresaid issues. The sample of the study was derived form the Kandy District and the stratified sampling technique was used within the study. A questionnaire was used to collect primary data for the study and descriptive statistics method was used to analyze the findings. The results show that the application of customer relationship management is at satisfactory level in the studied are and all the hoteliers are trying to achieve overall efficiency in delivering the service while maximize their returns. Customer satisfaction level with respect to the CRM initiations are measured with respect to the ten dimensions and it has shown that the customers are almost satisfied with the overall services they received from the hotels. Furthermore, the hoteliers personally believe that they have the necessary competencies for continuing their CRM initiations and prefer to update them self's with CRM improvements. The study recommends the hotel sector to strictly concentrate on CRM for an enhanced customer satisfaction. Hoteliers can maximize the satisfaction level of the customers by overcoming the shortcomings and problems faced by them in the existing system. Key words: Customer relationship management, Customer satisfaction
Destination Image and Destination Loyalty: Comparison between Asia Pacific and European Tourists
(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2019) Senarath, S.M.U.C.; Ranasinghe, J.P.R.C.
Sri Lanka is full of natural and man-made attractions and things that can attracts many of tourists towards them from different regions in the world and Tourist satisfaction has been identified as a key performance indicator in tourism industry. According to the SLTDA 2016 report, Sri Lankan tourist arrival markets are move from Western Europe countries to Asian countries. In this respect, this study attempted to explore the difference between these two major source markets in the context of Destination Image and Destination Loyalty to advise the Destination Management efforts of the country. The researches done by scholars suggest that there is a significant positive relationship between Destination image and Tourism satisfaction. Key objectives of the study include identify the role of destination image on the destination loyalty among the Asia Pacific and European tourists and identify the difference between destination loyalty among Asia Pacific and European tourists. Research data were collected using convenience sampling method with 180 tourists 90 from each both regions visit to Western province by distributing selfadministrated questionnaires. Questionnaire consists with four major parts and 35 questions from two dependent variables and mediator variable. Results obtained from using Descriptive analysis and PLS-SEM model. Findings revealed that tourists from both regions were highly satisfied with the existing level of cognitive destination image and affective destination image on Sri Lanka. Both region tourists have an effect on Cognitive Destination Image through Perceived Value and only Asia Pacific tourists have an effect on Affective Destination Image through Destination Loyalty. Western Europe tourists are effect on Cognitive Image, Affective Image and Perceived Value through Destination Loyalty. Therefore, researchers recommended improving the Affective Image facilities among Destination Loyalty in Asia Pacific tourists.
Determinants of Revpar in Individual Hotels (With Special Reference to Star Classified Hotels in Colombo and Grater Colombo Tourism Clusters)
(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2013) Ekanayaka, D.P.S.; Ranasinghe, J.P.R.C.
Purpose of this paper was to identify RevPAR determinants of individual firms located in a destination. RevPAR, or revenue per available room, is a performance metric in the hotel industry. Since it is only a measurement for a point in time it is most often compared to the same time frame. This theme has had numerous applications in the tourism sector and, in particular, in the hospitality industry. It is a measure of how well the hotel has been able to fill rooms off season, when demand is low even if rates are also low, and how well they fill the rooms and maximize the rate in high season, when there is high demand for hotel rooms The sample is composed of 26 individual firms, operating in the star classification range and data have been collected from financial statements and questionnaires.
Determining Innovative Event Professional Competencies for Event and Exhibition Industry in Sri Lanka
(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2021) Vishvani, M.H.N.; Ranasinghe, J.P.R.C.; Nawarathna, A.M.D.B.
Event management is an industry that has a wide range of sub-categories made up of different requirements. Creative and knowledgeable employees are essential to survive in the event management sector. Numbers of developing countries and developed countries have upgraded their national skills and competencies standard system to cater to tourism and events. Purpose of this study was to understand the concept of competency and to determine the need for an innovative competency model for the Sri Lankan event and exhibition industry. The objectives of the study were to identify existing awareness of the event and exhibition industry professionals on the need of innovative competencies and to identify the key competencies which are currently practiced by the event professionals. Primary data collected through semi-structured interviews from eleven event and exhibition industry professionals representing eleven organizations out of twenty-eight event management organizations in Sri Lanka with the membership of Sri Lanka Association of Professional Conference, Exhibition and Event Organizers (SLAPCEO). This study utilized content analysis in the analysis and the findings of the study reveal that industry professionals have an average level of knowledge regarding the benefits of innovative competencies. But they are using some general competencies in their existing working environment and the researchers could identify five main competencies among them and they can be named as time management, human resource management, marketing skills, work under pressure, and creativity. And four main innovative competency categories emerged from the analysis namely operation management, entrepreneurial skills, and personal characteristics and communication competencies. Based on those four main categories the researcher listed all the identified competencies that were included in the gathered data and developed a competency model. Interpretation and commentary assist event and exhibition industry professionals in Sri Lanka to determine the importance of innovative competencies and the competitive advantage of using them to intelligently capture the opportunities. Keywords: Events and exhibition industry; Innovative competencies; Industry professionals; Event competency model
The Effects of Motivation, Satisfaction and Revisit Intention of Tourists on Ayurvedic Tourist Hotels (With Special Reference to Galle District)
(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2015) Dilhani, H.A.A.; Ranasinghe, J.P.R.C.
Present era of 21st century has become globalized and changing rapidly. In the hotel industry, satisfaction of guests has regarded as an important indicator of revisit intention. All the hotels engage in providing quality service are expecting revisit intention of guests. In the composite world to have a change for the busy life, people motivate to travel different destinations to get relaxation and escape from usual environment. Health and Wellness Tourism is popular among tourists those who are seeking treatments for their body and mind. They are tending to Ayurvedic Tourism which is providing by the Ayurvedic Tourist Hotels where all the Ayurvedic Treatments and medicines available to the guests. Motivation and satisfaction are two concepts widely studied in tourism literature, the relevance of these constructs being derived from their impact on tourist behavior but which focus at tourism in general (Mohammad, T et al, 2011). Different people are having different motives for buying product or a service. By identifying their motivation factors hotels can design their products which can attract more customers. Satisfaction of tourists, especially of seeking to create loyal customers and develop their markets is very important. The important point is satisfaction comes from the comparison from their expectations with the services they receive and this comparison is based their understanding which in many cases not with reality. (Mohammad, T et al, 2011). According to Bindu T and, C. Kanagaraj, (2013) enhancing tourist satisfaction should be one of the main aims of destination marketers as it is a perquisite for developing strategies to enhance the destination’s attractiveness and its competitive positioning. Satisfaction may also relate directly to the consumer’s needs and motives, they should also be included. By including travel motives and perception of attributes at the destination it is possible to have a better understanding about why people intended to recommend and revisit. Thereby the motivation, satisfaction and revisit intention greatly influence on each. As such hotels often consider on maintain the hotel attributes to satisfy and building a long term relationship with customers while understanding their motivation factors lying on the journey. The growth in tourism is well anticipated as evident in the researches and analyses conducted by experts and relevant organizations in this industry. Therefore subject of concurrent studies on motivation, satisfaction and revisit intention in the hotel industry. Therefore, this research was conducted to examine the relationship between motivation, satisfaction, and revisit intention of tourists on Ayurvedic Tourist Hotels in Galle District. Methodology This study has been done by using quantitative techniques. In order to that, primary data was collected from 80 tourists who have visited Ayurvedic Tourist Hotels which have registered under the SLTDA in Galle area with the purpose of getting Ayurvedic treatments. Data are collected through the questionnaires. There are 04 registered Ayurvedic Tourist Hotels in Galle District which facilitates highest number of Ayurvedic tourists hotels was selected as the sample and from each hotel 20 tourists were selected random manner and 100% respondent rate has been achieved. Pearson rank correlation and multiple regression analysis have used for data analyzing by using SPSS version 21 software. Results and Discussion Results revealed that there is a high positive relationship between motivation and attribute satisfaction and correlation coefficient is r = 0.77. It says that when the Motivation of tourists increasing their attribute satisfaction on Ayurvedic Tourist Hotel is increasing. Further, it indicates that if they are highly motivate on getting Ayurvedic treatments, their satisfaction on hotel attributes such as Health Program, Staff Service Quality, Room Quality, Security, Value and General Amenities are increasing. Also it was identified that there is a strong positive correlation between Attribute Satisfaction and Revisit Intention which has been calculated r = 0.756 value and it says that when Attribute Satisfaction increases Revisit Intention of tourists have been increased. It implies that Ayurvedic Tourist Hotel attributes highly affected on get revisit intention of tourists to the hotel.
Enhancing Community Involvement in Wildlife Tourism - A Focus on Challenges and Issues (With Special Reference to Wasgamuwa National Park)
(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2019) Gunawardhane, U.G.S.N.; Ranasinghe, J.P.R.C.; Wijesundara, W.G.S.R.
Tourism is a sector that can contribute to the economic growth of any region. Sri Lanka has proved to be one of the fastest growing tourist destinations for many types of tourism and specially wildlife tourism. This research mainly focuses on the challenges & issues faced by host community leading to limit their involvement in wildlife tourism. The study aims to clarify and enhance community involvement in wildlife tourism in economic, rural livelihood and social cohesion perspectives. The study also identifies the expectations of community members in order to enhance their involvement in wildlife tourism. Research site is Wasgamuwa National Park, one of the famous wildlife park in Sri Lanka, mostly locals and foreigners visit to experience the wildlife tourism activities such as safari, camping, photography. The extensive review of literature on wildlife tourism, protected areas, community involvement in wildlife tourism, hosts perception on wildlife tourism, barrios to satisfactory host engagement with wildlife tourism and the way forwards for hosts and wildlife tourism have enhanced the theoretical background of the study. Semistructured interviews were conducted to collect primary data from the community members. Local service providers, government officials and host community around Wasgamuwa National Park were interviewed and their views and opinions are used as the basis for analysis from which findings are elucidated and recommendations made. Qualitative data have analyzed through thematic analysis using NVivo11 pro software. By using thematic analysis method researcher identified the themes in the data set. The findings show that a huge current involvement of the community in wildlife tourism. Researcher showed Maintaining access to resources, Complimenting and boosting livelihood, Active participation not just involvement, Cooperation with the private sector, Exploiting the market through ecotourism label as the recommendations.
Factors Influencing Urban Tourism Development in Kandy City
(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2019) Wijesundara, M.A.S.N.; Ranasinghe, J.P.R.C.
Mass tourism has been dominating the global tourism sector until recent past. However, due to changing consumer expectations and extensive competition, countries are seeking new strategies to improve their tourism activities in the country. Nowadays tourists proffered to move from mass tourism to niche tourism. . Urban Tourism is one such new concept which is has become important in the backdrop of increasing urbanization. This research study uses “Urban Tourism” as a concept to identify the influencing factors to the development of urban tourism in Kandy City. This study carried out with both quantitative and qualitative methods. After the comprehensive literature review, structured questionnaire was constructed with 23 items and the survey was conducted. The target sample of this research is tourists who are visiting to Kandy City. 200 tourists visiting Kandy city were surveyed to collect primary data for the study. Initially, descriptive analysis was carried out to screen the respondents’ profile. Subsequently, factor analysis was carried out to reduce number of variables and to group factors which have similar characteristics. Thematic analysis technique was used to analyze opportunities and barriers to develop urban tourism in Kandy city. The study identified five factors which significantly influence urban tourism development in Kandy City. Those were People most perceived attractions, People most perceived amenities, Tourists most expected activities, Accessibility and security and Government involvements. In order to identify opportunities and barriers, this study used qualitative method and data collected from government authorities who are involve in tourism sector. Also through this study have been identified more attraction palaces were the best opportunity and Lack of underdeveloped infrastructure facilities were the major barrier for the urban tourism development.
Identify the Potential Demand for Geotourism Travel Trend (Special Reference to Jathika Namal Uyana, Knuckles Mountain Range and Horton Plains in Sri Lanka)
(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2020) Kulathilake, P.A.C.D.; Ranasinghe, J.P.R.C.
This study focused on the potential demand for geotourism travel trends in the context of the Sri Lankan tourism industry. Geotourism is a new concept and a niche market that has specific needs. This research aimed to describe the geological significance of the sites with the basic concept of the creation of geosites and to identify the potential demand for geotourism travel trends benefiting the tourism stockholders to enhance their knowledge to the future demand of the tourism industry. Hence, the study was conducted to identify potential demand for geotourism travel trends, to identify the impact of visitor perception on the potential demand for Geotourism, and to identify the relationship between destination capabilities and potential demand for geotourism, and to the identify the travel agency perception on the potential demand for geotourism travel trend. Research-based was on mixed-method approach. The primary data were collected from 120 foreign tourists using a convenience sampling technique and a questionnaire consisted of 45 questions. 10 structured interviews were conducted with travel agencies to cover the qualitative section of the study. The quantitative data analytical method was employed in analysing the data following descriptive statistics, simple linear regression analysis, and correlation analysis using SPSS 22. Qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis. The finding reflected that visitor perceptions were significantly influenced by the potential demand for geotourism travel trends towards geosites. There was a strong positive relationship between destination capabilities and potential demand for geotourism travel trend of the foreign tourists towards geosites of Namal Uyana, Knuckles Mountain Range, Horton Plains. Introducing awareness programmes, innovative tour guide lectures, motivating tourism stockholders to address the new market it directly affected on the potential demand for geotourism travel trend towards Sri Lanka. Keywords: Geotourism, Geosites, Potential demand, Destination capabilities, Visitor perception
Identifying the potential to develop Nuwara Eliya as a tea tourism destination Demand and supply perspectives
(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2015) Fernando, M.J.R.S.; Ranasinghe, J.P.R.C.
It is in the areas of tea services, tea attractions, tea tours and tea destinations that tea is clearly directly connected to tourism, as contemporary tourists seek out unique and authentic experiences related to the consumption and appreciation of the beverage called’ tea’. As a result, demand for the satisfaction of tea related tourism services increased and catering to such requirements became a popular way of income generation. Many countries which are possessed with tea related resources are making great efforts to brand those destinations related to tea tourism. According to Jolliffe (2007), in Sri Lanka, tourism related to tea has been recognized as a potential strategy for the diversification of tea plantations and the encouragement of sustainable development in tea-producing regions. Ceylon Tea and Tourism are inseparable words as Sri Lanka’s tea growing areas are undoubtedly the most beautiful places in the island (Ceylon Tea Land, 2013). This expresses the capability of Nuwara Eliya, the main tea region and one of the main tourism regions in Sri Lanka, to combine tourism and tea (Gunasekara & Momsen, 2004). The literature survey emphasizes the importance of carrying out a research focusing on both demand and supplier perspectives to get a broader picture since most of the existing studies are based on supply perspective. Therefore this research focused on identifying the potentials of tea tourism in Nuwara Eliya district considering the profile of potential tea tourists, expectations of tourists who travel to a tea related destinations and the capabilities of Nuwara Eliya as a tea tourism destination from both demand and supply points of view. Methodology A mixed approach was used for this study including both quantitative and qualitative aspects. Since this is a new area of investigation and lack of recorded data about tourists who visit tea tourism destinations in Nuwara Eliya district, Convenient Sampling Method was used in this study. Sample was based on tea estate bungalows and tea establishments namely Heritance Tea factory hotel, Labookele tea centre, The Tea Cup, Blue Field Tea Centre and Tea Trails which are located in Nuwara Eliya area, as a reasonable amount of tourist arrivals are reporting from particular locations and they were recognized tea tourism suppliers in Nuwara Eliya according to SLTDA (2014). Sixty of foreign tourists were given questionnaires and five tea tourism establishments have been interviewed to achieve the objectives. Therefore the actual amount of members of the sample was sixty nine including those 64 tourists and the five establishments or the suppliers. Data analysis techniques used were exploratory factor analysis (EFA), Graphical representations and Friedman mean rank analysis of SPSS version 21. Transcriptions were developed and coded to summarize data which were collected by the interviews. Results Findings depict that both genders (yet females show a significant higher percentage of 65%) have visited tea related attractions, who belong to 31-40 age group, and they have a positive attitude towards tea drinking (76%), and it was revealed that they often drink tea (73%). The majority of the visitors found in the survey were full time employed. This percentage is very higher which is 78% while the majority of the tourists (75%) told that they are willing to pay more than $50 for tea tourism activities and products. 94% tourists were aware about Nuwara Eliya prior to their visit and the general perception on Nuwara Eliya as a Tea Tourism destination among tourists was higher (79%). The ranking they gave for Nuwara Eliya related to tea tourism is a prominent among other international competitors (a mean rank of 1.35). “Tea related attractions” group was identified as the most important destination capability for developing tea tourism in Nuwara Eliya which explained 23% of the variance (eigen value is 5.097).
Impact Assessment of Quality Certifications on Organizational Performance with Special Reference to Hotels Certified by SLSI
(Uva Wellassa University of Srilanka, 2011) Wijesundara, W.P.N.; Ranasinghe, J.P.R.C.
Note: See the PDF Version Since the awareness of the concept of Quality certification (QC) in foreign countries is very high, implementation of Quality Systems is becoming an international necessity. Therefore, it is vital to identify the impact of Quality certifications (QC) on Organizational Performance (OP). The quality of goods and services in hotel industry is a significant factor for a successful business and therefore, this effort is to conduct a study on the impact of QC on hotel industry. Demand for the QC is very low in service sector as it involves high costs and lack of quality professionals (Almeida et al., 2009). Investors' awareness on QC seems to be in a lower stage and currently there is a trend for being certified in hotel sector (Sri Lanka Standard Institution -SLSI). Hence, it is important to assess whether there is a real value of being certified. The purpose of this study was to discover whether the hotels are really benefited by obtaining the ISO certification and to determine to which extent the various performances were affected. As ancillary objectives, the costs and benefits of being certified and factors influenced hoteliers to obtain quality certification have been investigated in this study.
Impact of Brand Element Changes on Brand Equity: Special Reference to Dialog Telecom in the Telecommunication Industry in Sri Lanka
(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2012) Nirmani, I.C.; Ranasinghe, J.P.R.C.
The concept of branding is very important in current complex business world. Building brand equity, or strong brands, is considered to be one of the key drivers of business's success. More and more firm and organization have come to the realization that one of their most valuable assets is the brand names associated with their product or services. (Keller, 2003). Brand elements play an important role for building brand equity in brand management. If an organization changes their brand elements, nobody can say whether both users and non-users accept or disclaim it. Therefore, there is a risk about consumers' perception regarding changing brand elements. On the other hand, changing brand or brand elements is a highly expensive task. If an organization changes their brand, it must be communicated well through advertising to their customers (Chiranjeev Kohli & Lance Leuthesser, 2006). Then only marketers can achieve main purpose of changing brand elements and can build significant brand equity and loyalty (Aurandet al, 2005; Fournier 1998). The test of the building brand ability of elements it what consumers would think or feel about the product if they only knew about its brand name, associated logo and other characteristics. Accordingly, the way of building Brand Equity as parallel to Brand Element changes can be identified. In current Sri Lankan context, most of the local and international companies are changing their brand and its elements. It directly affects their brand equity. High brand equity is considered to be a competitive advantage since: it implies that firms can charge a premium; there is an increase in customer demand; extending a brand becomes easier; communication campaigns are more effective; there is better trade leverage; margins can be greater; and the company becomes less vulnerable to competition (Campbell, 2002; Keller, 2003). Therefore, the brand equity is very much important for the success of the organization. Accordingly, this study focused on identifying the effect of the changing brand elements for building strong brand equity at the exiting market; evaluate the successfulness of changing brand elements and consumers' perception of the new brand, and studying whether marketers can attract new customers via changing brand elements.
The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Competitiveness of SMEs in Sri Lanka: Special Reference to Gampaha District
(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2019) Abeygunawardhana, A.G.C.; Ranasinghe, J.P.R.C.; Fernando, A.G.N.K.
Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) has become an important strategy for gaining competitive advantage. Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) sector is playing a major role especially in a developing economy like Sri Lanka and trend to fail due to various reasons like lack of competitive Strategies. Therefore, it is necessary to identify how significantly the CSR influence on the competitiveness of the SMEs. The primary objective of the research is; “to investigate the impact of CSR on competitiveness of SMEs in Sri Lanka”. The secondary objectives were “to investigate the relationship between each factor of CSR and competitiveness of the SMEs in Sri Lanka” and “to identify the most influential factor of CSR on competitiveness of the SMEs in Sri Lanka”. A self-administered questionnaire was fielded to collect primary data over a conveniently drawn sample of 100 respondents who were the owners and the managers of SMEs. Descriptive statistics, correlation coefficient and regression analysis techniques were used to analyze the data. According to the findings social oriented CSR activities has the most significant impact on the competitiveness of the SMEs and environment oriented CSR activities has the least impact. Therefore the SME owners and manager should carry out CSR program to increase the impact of all these factors majorly social oriented CSR activities. Because it gives a strong significance. Since all four factors have a positive impact towards the competitiveness of the SMEs, by improving the impact of them will affect positively to the enterprise to gain long term competitive advantages.
The Impact of Destination Attractiveness on Tourists’ Motivation to Consume Local Foods: Empirical Evidence from Ella and Nuwara Eliya Tourism Zones
(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2019) Danthanarayana, C.P.; Ranasinghe, J.P.R.C.
Although the food is an imperative aspect of the tourism industry, there are limited studies on tourists’ motivation to consume local foods at tourist destinations. Thus, this study concerns the destination food brand image towards the local foods and tourists’ motivation to consume local food based on different destination attractions. To identify the relationship between destination attractiveness, destination food brand image and motivation to consume local food; to uncover the impact of destination attractiveness to motivate the tourists’ local food consumption and to elucidate how destination food brand image mediates the destination attractiveness and motivation to local food consumption were main objectives of the study. Three hundred tourists who visited Ella and Nuwara Eliya were selected using convenient sampling technique and a self-administered questionnaire was fielded to collect primary data. Five underlying factors were analyzed under destination attractiveness; of local food consumption were labelled: cultural experience; authentic experience; food health; sensory appeal; and physical excitement. The study reveals that destination attractiveness as well as, a destination food brand image, can significantly enhance tourists’ motivation to consume local food. Marketers required identifying the ways that they can develop destination food brand image, food service providers required to develop relevant skills to produce local foods with better taste, smell, appearance and they should use quality and fresh ingredients to maintain the food healthiness. Based on the results it can conclude that tourists taste local foods while travelling and communication is more important to motivate them by promoting and establishing destination food brand image in their minds.
Impact of Ecological, Communal, and Economic Attitudes on Residents’ Support for Sustainable Tourism Development; Evidence from the Residents’ of Sinharaja Rainforest Periphery
(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2019) Wijerathne, N.D.T.; Ranasinghe, J.P.R.C.
This study aims to identify the Impact of Ecological, Communal, and Economic Attitudes in shaping residents’ support for Sustainable Tourism Development in an ecologically sensitive tropical rain forest periphery in Sri Lanka. A Self-administered questionnaire was to a conveniently drawn-sample to collect primary data. . A total of 270 completed questionnaires were collected from the residents around Sinharaja Rain Forest, in Sri Lanka. Residents’ perception of ecological sensitivity, community attachment, economic assertiveness, and sustainable tourism development support were used to run the proposed theoretical model using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) technique, Smart PLS was used as the tool and the results revealed that community attitudes had a significant positive effect on ecological sensitivity, and personal economic gains had a positive effect on socio-cultural understanding, also positive tourism impact had a significant positive effect on sustainable tourism development. According to the results of this study socio cultural understanding had a significant negative effect on attitudes of negative tourism impacts. The results of the SEM revealed that four of the 11 hypothesized paths in the proposed structural equation model were acceptable and another seven were rejected. For Descriptive statistic SPSS software were used to analyse the data and results revealed that males were highly participated to the tourism industry and also other demographic informations of this study were widely spread. This study was conducted by considering only quantitative approaches to analyses the findings therefore based on the limitations of study future research can study qualitative approach to interpret the findings in depth.
Impact of Hotel Attributes on Hotel Selection of Millennial Tourists with Special Reference to Supplementary Lodging Establishments in Dambulla
(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2019) Randeniya, R.G.S.V.; Ranasinghe, J.P.R.C.; Karunarathne, A.C.I.D.
Millennials, also known as the Generation Y are expected to represent 50% of the travel revenue by 2020 in Sri Lanka. The behaviours, perceptions, motives and expectations of these travellers are different compared to other travellers. Accordingly, the hotel selection of Millennials depends on various factors. This study focuses on the impact of hotel attributes on the hotel selection of the millennial tourists with special reference to supplementary lodging establishments in Dambulla UNESCO World Heritage City. According to the previous research statistics on accommodation choice of the millennial tourists in the Sri Lankan context, the supplementary lodging establishments had received a significant density. The study aims to identify profile of millennial tourists who select supplementary lodging establishments, to examine the relationship between hotel attributes and hotel selection of millennial tourists, and to identify the most and least influential hotel attributes that impact on hotel selection of millennial tourists. Primary data for the study was collected through the self-administered questionnaire. A total of 191 millennial tourists who stayed at supplementary lodging establishments in Dambulla were surveyed. Descriptive analysis, Pearson correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis were used to analyse data. The analysis exposed that there was a positive relationship between all the hotel attributes and hotel selection decision of millennial tourists. Highly influencing factors were price, and the location respectively with a strong positive relationship to the hotel selection of millennial tourists. The least influencing factors were staff service quality and room quality respectively. Based on the results, the researcher recommends for the initiations done towards implementing pricing strategies and location attributes in particular accommodation units, if to influence the demand of the hotel selection of millennial tourists in Sri Lanka.

Browsing by Author "Ranasinghe, J.P.R.C."

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