A Comparative Study on the Influence of Promotional Mix Factors on Domestic Tourists' Destination Choice: Evidence from Dambulla & Sigiriya UNESCO World Heritage Sites
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Date
2018
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Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka
Abstract
The domestic tourism in Sri Lanka has a long history. A specific feature of domestic tourism in Sri Lanka is the rising middle class that emerged with the opening up the economy of the country. Strategies used in tourist destinations and the factors affecting tourists' destination choice are highly important for the promotional activities. This study depends on domestic tourists' destination choice with respect to two UNESCO World heritage sites. According to Annual Statistical Report of Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, it is revealed that there are lowest domestic tourist's arrivals to Dambulla heritage site and highest domestic tourist's arrivals to Sigiriya heritage site. Hence, the intention of this paper is to fill the gap in literature using secondary and primary data. Primary data were gathered through distributing a self-administered questionnaire and fifty domestic tourists per destination were selected by using convenience sampling technique. Correlation coefficient analysis and Regression analysis were used for the purpose of data analysis. Results revealed that the public relations were the most significant tool influence on destination choice in Dambulla heritage site and personal selling was the most significant tool influence in Sigiriya heritage site. According to the results, Dambulla heritage site should consider the other promotional activities such as personal selling, advertising and sales promotions to enhance the domestic tourist arrivals.
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Keywords
Hospitality Management, Tourism Management, Events Management