Promoting Chinese Cultural Heritage Tourism in Sri Lanka during Post-COVID19 Revival Phase: Viewpoint

Abstract

The Chinese outbound tourists have received the spotlight of many destinations around the world. Therefore, the main aim of this article is to discuss the Chinese cultural heritage tourism potential in Sri Lanka with the purpose of attracting Chinese tourists to Sri Lanka during the post-COVID19 tourism revival phase. The study critically evaluates the previous literature on Chinese outbound tourism, heritage tourism, and Chinese cultural heritage in Sri Lanka. The study follows an interpretivism research approach. The study identified the potential of attracting Chinese outbound tourists to Sri Lanka after developing Chinese Cultural Heritage in Sri Lanka as a niche tourism product. The study further examined the resilience of the Chinese outbound market against the COVID19 pandemic and makes recommendations to attract Chinese tourists to Sri Lanka during the post-COVID19 revival phase. This viewpoint paper provides practical implications to Sri Lanka tourism policy makers and practitioners on how to attract the Chinese outbound tourists, which has not been systematically studied before.