Browsing by Author "Sammani, U.G.O."
Now showing 1 - 12 of 12
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item Challenges and Opportunities for Community Based Tourism Development in Kithulgala(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2020) Ranasinghe, D.M.; Damunupola, A.K.A.; Kumara, P.H.T.; Sammani, U.G.O.Tourism is one of the world’s fastest-growing industries and it is a major source of income for many countries. Community-Based Tourism (CBT) concept relates more specifically to tourism operations involving local communities, taking place on their lands and oriented on their cultural and natural resources and attractions. This study especially focused on identifying challenges, opportunities for CBT development in Kithulgala, and particularly intended to study the community perception towards CBT development in Kithulgala. This study adopted a mixed-methods approach and data were gathered through questionnaires and interviews. Two separate questionnaires were used gathered data from hoteliers, tour operators, and tourists. The convenience sampling method was used to collect data from 100 hoteliers, operators, and 50 tourists, and 10 local community members were interviewed. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive and exploratory factor analysis with the support of SPSS and qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis. According to the results, lack community interest, lack of government, lack of awareness and training, lack of marketing and promotional activities and lack of infrastructure identified were identified as challenges and there were several opportunities identified such as increasing revisit intention, improvements of desire to explore remote locations, introducing novel adventure-based activities, focusing on positive recommendations of the visitors and providing facilities to different experience about local culture. There should be some implications for the development of tourism in Kithulagla, product diversification, and quality enhancement, develop marketing and promotion through social media and company websites, and increase government involvement. . Keywords: Community based tourism, Challenges, Opportunities, Community perceptionItem A Comparative Study on Usage of Marketing Strategies by Themed Hotels and Traditional Hotels in Southern Province of Sri Lanka: from the Managerial Perspective(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2021) Munasinghe, M.A.M.A.; Wijesundara, W.G.S.R.; Sammani, U.G.O.During the past decades, Sri Lanka has reported a dramatic increment on their hotel establishments. As a result, huge competition exists among hotels in marketing themselves. Hence, hotel management needs to be more customer-oriented and competitive by adopting marketing mix strategies in order to reach its target customers. Therefore, this paper aims to comparatively analyze the usage of different marketing strategies used by themed hotels and traditional hotels in Southern Province of Sri Lanka. In compliance with this trend, this paper investigated theme hotels and traditional hotels in marketing strategies development. Furthermore, it figures out the difference between themed hotels and traditional hotels, with regards to marketing mix strategies. The sample to the study being managerial employees in 7 theme hotels and 6 traditional hotels, data was collected through semi-structured interviews. In the empirical data, the researcher collected data from interviews with hotel managers through the combination theories of seven P‟s of marketing mix strategies, and resource-based view. Data was analysed through content analysis. According to the results, it has been highlighted that the theme hotels prioritize internal design, premium price, experiential environment, narrow advertising tools, exclusive greeting patterns in developing marketing strategies, meanwhile traditional hotels focus on standard facilities and amenities, seasonal pricing, broad advertising tools, personalized service, comfortable environment. But, both types of hotels depend on products and physical evidence in marketing their properties. Specifically, the study suggests spreading the marketing campaigns of themed hotels via digital platforms and developing experiential strategies in marketing plans by traditional hotels. Keywords: Marketing Strategies; Resource based view; Marketing mix strategies; Accommodation industry; Competitive marketItem Determinants of Length of Stay of Asian Tourists in Sri Lanka; What Makes their Stay Long or Short?(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2020) Premasiri, N.G.B.M.; Karunarathne, A.C.I.D.; Tennakoon, T.M.P.S.I.; Sammani, U.G.O.The emerging industry remarks indicated a growing average length of stay over the years in Sri Lankan tourism. Length of stay denotes the amount of time that the tourist spends at a given destination whereas the durations of tourism trip refer to the length of time between departure from and return to home. However, Asia, the top source region to Sri Lanka has continuously reported the lowest length of stay over the years compared to all other regions. Therefore, the current study was carried out to identify the determinants of length of stay of Asians tourists in Sri Lanka in terms of socio-demographics, travel characteristics, destination attributes, and travel motives. Further, this study examined the contribution of travel agencies to extend the length of stay of Asian tourists in Sri Lanka. To achieve these objectives, primary data were collected through structured questionnaires from 150 Asian tourists who visited the cultural triangle and occupied structured interviews for managers of 8 travel agencies who handled the inbound tourism in Sri Lanka with the Asian market. A convenient sampling technique was employed to select tourists and travel agents in the sample. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and, thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Accordingly, the sociodemographics, travel characteristics, and destination attributes indicated a significant relationship with the length of stay of Asian tourists in Sri Lanka. Further, the budget and the free time were two of the most significant reasons for the lower length of stay. Problems with the allocated budget, language barriers, and itinerary changes were the most critical reasons for the lower length of stay as highlighted by the travel agent. Customized and improved tour package, integrated marketing communication, flexible pricing strategies, and, lowering the tax/levy and other charges will make a significant influence on the extended length of stay of Asian tourists’ in Sri Lanka. Keywords: Length of stay, Cultural triangle, Travel motives, Asian tourists, Sri LankaItem Empirical Study on Residents Support Towards Sustainable Tourism Development in a Post-war Destination Sri Lanka: Special Reference to Trincomalee Area(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2020) Shanmugarajah, R.; Kumara, P.H.T.; Karunarathne, A.C.I.D.; Sammani, U.G.O.Sustainable tourism is one of the niche markets of the tourism industry and a crucial determinant that mostly deals with the local population. The success and sustainability of any development project and the support of the local population in the area has a significant association in various aspects. Sri Lanka as an island has its potential to elaborate the tourism activities to an extent level. Resident support is a key force in any form of tourism because it directly deals with tourism development. Yet few researches related to tourism development in the Trincomalee area have been conductd particularly the community-based tourism in a broader view. The main focus of this study was to identify the existing level of resident support, socio-economic and environmental impacts, and the ways to accelerate the industry towards sustainable tourism. A convenient sampling technique was used to select the 20 local residents as the sample. A qualitative research design was adopted in this research. The information was derived from direct interviews and thematic analysis was utilized for the data analysis. Findings indicated that knowledge of tourism, resident-visitor interaction, and resident’s place image have the most favorable perception and they strongly influence on the existing resident support. Benefits of sustainable tourism were found as direct employment, economic growth, social empowerment, living standard, and cultural exchange. According to the results the negative impacts found were increaded cost of living, cultural influences, illegal activities, pollution, and overcrowding. Furtehr, the results revealed that adequate government support (human capital and financial) and stakeholder participation (community participation) could help to accelerate developing Trincomalee as a sustainable tourist destination. Accordingly, disciplinary actions, community awareness, and adequate government support could help to accelerate the sustainable tourism activities with the resident support. Keywords: Sustainability, Tourism, Resident support, Tourism development, ImpactsItem Factors Influencing Organic Tea Purchasing in Boutique Hotels (Special Reference to Central Province Sri Lanka)(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2021) Dharmawardhana, K.K.P.S.; Damunupola, A.K.A.; Sammani, U.G.O.In the recent past, consumer demand for organic food products has increased rapidly due to the various health benefits it offers. The hospitality industry is one of the key economic contributors in Sri Lanka and in -comparison to the other hotels, boutique hotels are classified as luxury hotel categories serving upscale, niche market segments. The main aim of this study is to determine the key factors influencing organic tea purchasing in Boutique-hotels. The study also takes efforts to explore the difficulties faced by the hoteliers in the organic tea purchasing process and the hotel Managers‟ perception towards organic product purchasing. The qualitative research method applied for the study to in-depth examines the scenario. Further, purposive sampling and structured interview techniques were employed in data collection and the thematic analysis method was used for data analysis. Primary data were gathered from 12 boutique hotels listed in Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority. The central province of Sri Lanka was chosen as the study location. Accordingly, the findings of the study revealed that upscale tourists prefer to consume more health- conscious products while considering the long-term health benefits. And it was also highlighted that boutique hotel guests‟ consumer patterns are quite different from traditional hotel guests where they usually tend to spend more on the quality and the value aspects of a certain product regardless of the price. Additionally, Product and Process related issues including climatic changes, poor packaging, lack of education and awareness, and inadequate government support, etc factors were highlighted as some of the key challenges faced by the hotel management in the organic tea purchasing process. Some practical implications are proposed for organic tea suppliers, tea purchasing hoteliers, the government, and the other stakeholder groups to ensure a conducive environment for organic tea consumers and suppliers. Keywords: Organic tea; Purchase intention; Boutique hotels; Hospitality industryItem Identify the Potentials to Develop Yoga Tourism with Special Reference to Western Province(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2020) Silva, R.P.N D.; Peiris, H.R.N.; Sammani, U.G.O.Currently, yoga tourism has become a new trend around the world and there are more than 300 million yoga practitioners in the world. When consider the Sri Lankan context Yoga tourism is not much popular. The research study aimed to identify the potentials to develop yoga tourism in Western province. Qualitative and quantitative methods were adopted to gather data by using data collection methods of self-administrative questionnaires and structured interviews. The population of the study was international Yoga tourists who visit the western province as well as yoga instructors and in-charge person of the Yoga centre/hotel. The convenience sampling technique was used and 50 yoga tourists, 10 yoga establishments’ in charge person/ yoga operators, and 10 yoga instructors were interviewed. Factor analysis and content analysis were used to analyse quantitative and qualitative data and SWOT analysis were used to identify the potentials. To identify potentials for yoga tourism in the Western province the profile of the yoga tourists, yoga tourists’ expectation and behaviour, current situation of yoga centers/yoga centers in the hotel, competencies of yoga instructors were evaluated. The results of the study showed that the most influenced factor to do yoga was yoga program and competency of yoga instructors. And the Western province has good yoga establishments and there are experienced and qualified yoga instructors. All findings reflected that Western province has huge potentials for yoga tourism as a new tourism market. It is recommended that the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority should establish a legal procedure to register and introduce standards and guidelines for yoga centers and yoga instructors to promote yoga, and also to enhance the contribution of yoga instructors towards to promote yoga and promote yoga tourism with Ayurveda department. Keywords: Spiritual tourism, Wellness tourismItem Impact of Destination Attributes to Develop Religious Tourism in Anuradhapura: Perspective of Chinese Tourists(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2017) Sammani, U.G.O.Religion plays a major role in almost all the aspects of human life. The idea of the religious travel almost prevailed from ancient time. Today, the religious tourism has been developed into a much larger and more segmented market. Sri Lanka is country which has a great potential for religious tourism with its cultural heritages. Anuradhapura is one of the ancient capitals of Sri Lanka, designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its heritage and cultural significance. China is an emerging tourism market in Sri Lanka. Further, China is a multi-religious country where Buddhism takes a significant place. Hence, Religious tourism is one of the niche market in the tourism that can be best developed and promoted in the Sri Lanka especially for Chinese tourists, that has not yet reaped the benefits from the full potential. Since, destination attributes are critical in any form of tourism to create a successful tourism destination, the main purpose of this study to identify the impact of the destination attributes to develop the religious tourism in Anuradhapura from the perspective of Chinese tourists. A conceptual framework has been developed based on the 6A's in tourism. The study mainly depends on the primary data that has been collected by the author. The convenience sampling method was used to collect the data from the 100 Chinese tourists who visited Anuradhapura. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis and the multiple linear regression analysis were used to analyze the data. The results revealed that attractions, amenities, activities and the ancillary services are highly impact on the religious tourism development in Anuradhapura from the perspective of Chinese tourists. In order to develop the religious tourism in Anuradhapura, 6A's concept can be considered with proper strategic framework based on the behavior patterns of different nationalities.Item Role of Destination Attributes in Developing Religious Tourism in Anuradhapura; Perspective of Chinese Tourists(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2018) Sammani, U.G.O.; Tennakoon, T.M.P.S.I.Religion plays a major role in almost all the aspects of human life. The idea of the religious travel almost prevailed from ancient time. Today, the religious tourism has been developed into a much larger and more segmented market. Sri Lanka has a great potential for religious tourism with its cultural heritage. Anuradhapura is one of the ancient capitals of Sri Lanka, designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its heritage and cultural significance. China is an emerging tourism market in Sri Lanka. Further, China is a multi-religious country where Buddhism takes a significant place. Hence, Religious tourism is one of the niche market in the tourism that can be best developed and promoted in the Sri Lanka, especially for Chinese tourists, that has not yet reaped the benefits from the full potential. Since, destination attributes are critical in any form of tourism to create a successful tourism destination, the main purpose of this study to identify the impact of the destination attributes to develop the religious tourism in Anuradhapura from the perspective of Chinese tourists. A conceptual framework has been developed based on the 6A's in tourism. The study mainly depends on the primary data that has been collected by the author. The convenience sampling method was used to collect the data from the 100 Chinese tourists who visited Anuradhapura. The quantitative research approach with Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis and the multiple linear regression analysis were used to analyze the data. The results revealed that attractions, amenities, activities and the ancillary services are highly impacting on the religious tourism development in Anuradhapura from the perspective of Chinese tourists. In order to develop the religious tourism in Anuradhapura, 6A's concept can be considered with a proper strategic framework based on the behavior patterns of different nationalities.Item Role of Tourism as a Community Development Tool with Special Reference to Patna, Deniyaya(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2020) Madushi, D.G.I.; Ranasinghe, J.P.R.C.; Sammani, U.G.O.Community development is a way of empowering civic activities and strengthening civil society and their perspective on social, economic, and environmental policy development. Tourism can play a critical role in empowering local communities. The tourism industry has many economic, social, and environmental benefits to the rural community. Rural tourism is a major contributor to rural development. This research aimed to identify the role of tourism in the context of rural community around Patna. Patna is a rapidly growing destination and in its early stage of tourist destination life cycle, ponders a range of opportunities through tourism. It is situated proximity to Deniyaya town just outside of Sinharaja Rain Forest. It is a rural village belongs to the Wiharahena Grama Niladhari Division. This research focused on factors influencing the development of the tourism industry, community development, and outlook. Using purposive sampling, twenty (20) tourism stakeholders was drawn for the study. Data were collected through in-depth interviews from the participant; visitors, community members, and government officers (Grama Niladhari, Economic Development officers). The transcribed detailed interview outcomes were scrutinized and analysed using thematic analysis techniques. Findings revealed that lack of infrastructure, lack of government involvement, negative environmental and social impacts have disturbed tourism and related community development potentials while tourism seems as an effective tool to improve the income level of the community. In sum, the study found that tourism has a limited impact on the Patna community with little improvement in their income levels. Based on the findings it recommended to improve government involvement, improve infrastructure facilities in the Patna area. Moreover, effective promotional techniques, promoting tourism-related community enterprises are some potential areas for future research. Keywords: Community-based Tourism, Community empowerment, Rural tourism, Tourism development, Tourism impacts.Item A Study of Tourist Perception on Tourist Harassment on Destination Image (With Special Reference to Arugam Bay Area)(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2020) Gallage, N.M.; Wijesundara, W.G.S.R.; Kumara, P.H.T.; Sammani, U.G.O.Tourist harassment is one of the major challenges which affects the competitiveness of various tourist destinations over the globe and it destroys the tourists’ positive destination image perceptions. In the Sri Lankan context, there are more pieces of evidence to prove that the tourists have been facing various types of harassment while they are traveling and staying in Sri Lanka. Thus, the main aim of this research was to explore the association between tourists’ perception of tourist harassment and destination image. The target population of the study was international tourists who visited Arugam Bay from July to August 2019 and the sample size was 100 international tourists. A self-prepared structured questionnaire was used to collect primary data from the sample. Purposive sampling technique was used to gather data from international tourists. Simple linear regression analysis and descriptive statistical analysis were used to analyse the data to achieve the research objectives. The results revealed that there was a positive significant association between tourists’ perception of tourist harassment and destination image. Also, verbal harassment was the mostly occurred harassments of Arugam Bay. Further, there was a higher level of influence on tourist harassments due to demographic factors like gender, age, marital status, etc. With the findings of the study, it is recommended to have the involvement of government organizations to avoid or minimize tourist harassment in Sri Lanka. Conducting comprehensive research related to the tourist harassments in Sri Lanka would be useful to avoid tourist harassment within Sri Lanka. Keywords: Tourist perception, Tourist harassment, Destination imageItem A Study on the Future Prospects of Tourist Hostel Operations under Covid – 19: Hostel Operators’ Perspective in Western Province of Sri Lanka(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2021) Senevirathne, K.A.M.P.; Wijesundara, W.G.S.R.; Sammani, U.G.O.“Tourist hostel” being a novel concept of accommodation category shows an exponential growth potential in the emerging backpacker market. Backpackers are budget-oriented, shared rooms, and a non-threatening communal space for travellers who value social interaction (SI) during their stay. Due to the COVID 19 epidemic, the largest global health pandemic in the century, Tourist Hostel Operators in Sri Lanka currently deal with substantial controls on hostel operations mainly imposed on maintenance of social distance and travel restrictions and unable to allow social interaction which is vital for backpacking and hostel culture. Hence, this study focuses to identify the nature of the tourists staying at tourist hostels; to explore the nature of tourist hostel operations before Covid-19 pandemic, and to identify specific challenges faced by tourist hostel operators under the new normal condition of Covid-19; from operators‟ perspective. Primary data were collected through semi-structured interviews from 15 selected tourist hostel operators in the Western province of Sri Lanka which has been listed on Hostelworld website. Purposive sampling was used to formulate the sample under qualitative research approach, collected data were transcribed and analyzed by using the content analysis method. As results illustrated, backpacker travelers were the main customer base mainly from Europe. Budget, SI and travel independence were identified as the major motives to accommodate in tourist hostels. Before the pandemic, operators had more focused on enhancing SI with physical and service attributes. However, SI has been challenged specifically and financial instability, lack of local demand, government regulations as well due to health concerns during the new normal condition. Even so, operators willingly encourage SI further without focusing alternative concepts; moving towards non-tourism activities, focusing alternative tourism concepts such as volunteer tourism, community based tourism etc. due to reduction on conventional mass tourism. Further, recommending a mechanism to adopt by highlighting sustainable approach for hostel operations while adhering to mandatory health and safety protocols imposed by the National Health Authorities. Keywords: Backpackers; Covid-19 outbreak; Hostel Operators; Social interaction; Tourist hostelItem Wow Feeling Effect on Repeat Visit Intention: Study on the Heritance Hotel, Ahungalla(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2019) Sammani, U.G.O.Tourism industry is the largest service oriented industry in the world. Repeat visitation is derived from customer satisfaction which is an essential element for survival of the tourism industry. Identification of most valued attributes are fundamental to attract and retain satisfied customers. Wow feeling has identified as the most important factor that can be increased the tourists’ satisfaction. Accordingly, this study focuses to identify the areas where can be generated wow feeling at the hotel and further it develops to identify the relationship between wow feeling and the repeat visit intention of tourists. To conduct this study, it was selected the “Heritance Hotel” in Ahungalla. The repeat guests visited the hotel during the period of month of month of November 2017 to February 2018 were considered as the population of the study. Out of the total repeat tourists visited the hotel during the prescribed period; it was selected 200 tourists to the sample following the purposive sampling technique. Self-structured questionnaire was used to collect primary data. Quantitative research method was applied and correlation and regression values are calculated to analyze data using systematic data analyzing software. According to the study findings, it was able to find out that there is a strong positive relationship between wow feeling and repeat visit intention among tourists. Further, the study focuses that welcome, restaurant and bar and cleanliness are highly impact on tourists when generating more wow feeling at the hotel. Finally, the study recommended that the hotel is needed to be taken actions to develop and enhance the customer loyalty and their satisfaction to ensure the repeat visitations. Hotel management needs to take future actions in their corporate plans to uplift the conditions of the hotel and they need to develop sustainable strategic plan for the hotel while satisfying their customers in their maximum.