Economic Impact of Tourism at Knuckles Forest Reserve; A Case Study in Atanwala Village
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Date
2020
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Publisher
Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka
Abstract
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 tourism
Description
Keywords
Hospitality Management, Tourism Industry, Tourism Management, Event Management, Environmental Science