Tourism in Sri Lanka during Political, Economic, and Environmental Crises: A Qualitative Analysis

This research navigates the intricate landscape of Sri Lanka's tourism sector against the backdrop of its rich cultural heritage and captivating landscapes. As global travel trends increasingly pivot towards sustainability, this study investigates the core of Sri Lanka's tourism dynamics, exploring consumer preferences and the diverse factors that shape them. The research employed a structured questionnaire distributed to 209 visitors who chose environmentally certified hotels, offering a comprehensive dataset for analysis. Utilizing a quantitative approach, the study employs descriptive, correlation, and regression analyses to unravel patterns and relationships among variables. The findings highlight consumers' positive inclinations towards environmental certifications, while shedding light on nuanced preferences regarding transportation, room reservations, pricing structures, hotel accessibility, food availability, environmental satisfaction, and cultural practices. Key relationships, such as the impact of environmental certifications on transportation facilities, pricing structures, and environmental satisfaction, are quantitatively explored. The results provide valuable insights for policymakers, businesses, and stakeholders aiming to align tourism practices with sustainability goals in Sri Lanka, offering a holistic understanding of consumer preferences in this culturally rich and environmentally diverse destination.

COVID-19's Discriminatory Burden on the Sri Lankan Economy Casts a Pall on the Disease

Reasons for visitor dissatisfaction with wildlife tourism experiences at highly visited national parks in Sri Lanka

The paper analyses the tourism demand and its economic determinants for effective management within the tourism sector. Utilising the Almost Ideal Demand System (AIDS), the study aims to estimate tourism expenditure and price responsiveness elasticities. The model employs data from 1995 to 2019, focusing on total share, total expenditure share, and total expenditure share per item. The findings reveal that Sri Lanka emerges as a destination with typical demand characteristics, showcasing a notably higher demand for tourism. Analysis of spending elasticities, both in terms of own and cross prices, underscores the country's favourable position within the tourism market. Specifically, the results indicate that the demand for tourism in Sri Lanka is sensitive to pricing dynamics, with elasticity values suggesting a significant response of tourist demand to price fluctuations. Understanding Sri Lanka's competitive position relative to other destinations underscores the importance of tailoring management strategies to suit the unique demand characteristics of each country. Given the price sensitivity observed within Sri Lanka's tourism demand, careful attention to pricing mechanisms is imperative for sustaining and enhancing the country's tourism sector.

This paper presents a systematic literature review on the application of business analytics (BA) in the tourism and hospitality industries, with an emphasis on entrepreneurship in Sri Lanka. Business analytics is increasingly recognized as a powerful tool for businesses, enabling data-driven decision-making that fosters competitiveness, operational efficiency, and innovation. This review employs the GRADE framework to assess the quality and strength of evidence from various research articles on the impact and potential of BA in tourism, hospitality, and entrepreneurship. Key themes include the importance of business analytics in strategic decision-making, demand forecasting, customer segmentation, and the role of entrepreneurial orientation in the adoption of BA. The findings highlight both opportunities and challenges in adopting BA techniques, especially in emerging economies like Sri Lanka. Keywords: Business Analytics, Data-Driven Decision Making, Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurial Characteristics, Predictive Analytics, Tourism and Hospitality Industry

This study examines millennial tourists' characteristics and travel behaviour in an Island destination like Sri Lanka. Specifically, this study attempts to understand the millennial travellers' interaction with various formal and informal stakeholders in the tourism industry in Sri Lanka and how such interactions are influenced by their unique characteristics. A qualitative approach was used for data collection, involving in-depth interviews with 17 millennial tourists. The data was analysed through thematic analysis, identifying key codes and themes. Some of the key characteristics of millennial tourists identified in this research are their price consciousness, preference for independence, thirst for authenticity, and the interaction with the local community. Further, this study identified the specific stakeholders millennial tourists interact with during a tour and revealed their inclination to interact more with the informal sector than the formal sector stakeholders in the tourism industry. This research offers valuable insights to tourism service providers, destination management organisations, and other stakeholders in the tourism industry on how to adapt and customise the tourism experience to cater to millennial travellers, who are becoming a dominant segment of global tourism.

The main objective of this study is to evaluate the credit risk on small and medium scale commercial loans in tourism industry within Sri Lanka, identifying how intensely most used by commercial banks while they manage these risks. The tourism industry is one of the most important contributors to Sri Lanka's economy, yet it is a primary area in which this country remains extremely vulnerable with respect to external shocks be they economic downturns or political instability [1]. Due to SMEs in this sector having little financial resources and are more highly dependent on tourism revenue [2]. The study will focus on the competitive environment, identifying key business competitors and investigate the recovery interventions masses up by commercial banks to market SMEs reclaim their markets post-crisis. This research aims to analyze practices of commercial banks, i.e., stringent processes for credit assessment; diversification strategies and customized financial solutions so as to provide conceptual framework on effective risk management and relationships of interventions in a post-conflict tourism sector [3]. The results will also assist banks to address credit risk and promote the sustainability and expansion of tourism SMEs in general, as well as under changing macro-economic changes (dynamic-chaotic) circumstances.

Although various studies have highlighted the consequences for tourist arrivals of political unrest and security concerns relating to some tourist destinations, they tend not to quantify the actual losses incurred by these destinations. Therefore, the main aim of this paper is to assess the cost of the recent political upheaval in Sri Lanka to its international inbound tourism, in terms of arrivals, foreign exchange earnings, household income, gross tourism expenditure, and employment. The paper also investigates the possible gains by neighbouring countries, such as Maldives and India, associated with the losses in arrivals to Sri Lanka. The results of this study indicate that Sri Lanka may have lost almost ten per cent (average annual) of international tourist arrivals between 1983 and 1989. A similar increase was observed in Maldives (twelve per cent, average annual), and India gained a 4.5 per cent average annual increase. Sri Lanka lost approximately 224,000 tourists from 1983 to 1989 while Maldives and India gained 85,000 and 554,000 tourists, respectively. The study, also found that Sri Lanka's tourism sector lost US$1,090.3 million (Rs.42,981 million) worth of potential foreign exchange as direct expenditure during 1983–1995. The flow‐on effect of the direct expenditure was Rs.72,037 million. The loss of direct and indirect household income (salaries and wages) was estimated at Rs.14,143 million and Rs.28,103 million, respectively, during the same period. The average annual loss of direct and indirect employment in the tourism sectors was 15,300 and 22,950 jobs, respectively.

This study analyses the impact of exchange rate fluctuations on tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka using time series data from 1960 to 2023. Independent variables include the annual average exchange rates of the US Dollar, the British Pound, Japanese Yen (JPY) and Indian Rupee and a “Dummy” variable indicating the economic policy change in 1977 (0 for inward policy before 1977 and 1 for outward policy after 1977). These currencies were selected based on recent report by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka that highlighted the significant fluctuations in exchange rates against the Sri Lankan Rupee (LKR). The results showed no statistically significant association between these exchange rates and tourist arrivals, with high p-values (above 0.05) and very low R-squared values, suggesting that exchange rate fluctuations do not have a significant impact on tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka. The dummy variables also showed no significant effect, indicating that the policy change did not affect tourist numbers. Augmented Dickey-Fuller test confirmed that the original time series data was not stationary but became stationary after the first differentiation. Multiple regression analysis of the differentiated data, variance inflation factors (VIFs) and tolerances did not indicate multicollinearity between the independent variables. Based on these findings, several recommendations are proposed to improve Sri Lanka's tourism sector. Diversifying marketing strategies through digital marketing and social media can promote the country's cultural heritage and attractions. Significant investment in tourism infrastructure such as transport networks and accommodation are essential to enhance the tourist experience. Ensuring geopolitical stability and robust security measures will boost tourist confidence. Developing niche tourism segments such as ecotourism and adventure tourism will cater to specific interests while simplified visa policies and improved air connectivity will increase accessibility. Finally, staying on top of global tourism trends and adapting strategies accordingly will help Sri Lanka maintain its competitiveness as a tourist destination. These strategies are aimed at promoting tourism sector growth regardless of exchange rate fluctuations and ensuring the sustainable development of tourism in Sri Lanka.

Impact of COVID-19 on Sri Lankan Economy

The impact of coronavirus on the tourism sector is still skeptic. Therefore, the study focused to explore the impact of the COVID – 19 epidemic on the Tourism sector of Sri Lanka and identifying the appropriate strategies to rebuild the tourism sector by overcoming the pandemic. A qualitative approach was employed in this study by conducting 11 semi-structured interviews. The snowball sampling technique was employed to identify various stakeholders and the collected data were analysed using discourse analysis. Accordingly, findings showed that many hotels and restaurants began retrenching employees and terminating casual and temporary workers’ services due to loss of income. Moreover, backward linkages, notably the association between the host community and tourism businesses in Sri Lanka have been deeply affected. It is concluded that Sri Lankan tourism has been severely disturbed by COVID – 19 because the tourism industry is extremely vulnerable, and trends of the industry are determined by several macro and micro environmental factors. The study provides some different strategies and tactics to overcome the problems faced by the tourism industry as implications. The qualitative approach was used with multiple data sources to gain more insight into the impact of COVID – 19 epidemic on the tourism industry through discourse analysis being the main originality of the study. Consequently, the findings were aligned with the Theory of Change. Recovery strategies are recommended to implement in two distinct phases with stakeholders’ participation to overcome the crisis.

Bangli Regency has a significant potential in the tourism sector. This potential can be seen from its geographical conditions and the state of the region occupied by the surrounding community. Generally, the potential of Bangli Regency mainly comes from the tourism and agricultural sectors which must be paid attention to by the community, stakeholders and government. The government needs to engage stakeholders and tourism actors in planning tourism development and formulating strategies that align with the local conditions and potentials such as natural tourism, cultural tourism, historical tourism and religious tourism, also the government providing training and skills development for tourism actors, such as tour guides , hotel managers, culinary entrepreneurs, and other related workers, as well as promoting tourism activities, which is an opportunity because it can attract tourists to come to visit Bangli Regency. Additionally, active participation of the community as tourism actors is also crucial in developing tourist attractions by involving them in decision making, training and education regarding the tourism industry which will help increase the economic benefits obtained by the community. The objective of this research is to analyze the priorities in the master plan for the tourism development of Bangli Regency. The strategic analysis utilizes John M. Bryson's strategic planning and SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis. This research is a descriptive-qualitative study. The information determination technique is purposive sampling. The research results in the WO (Weaknesses, Opportunity) alternative strategy. The improvement alternative strategy involves strengthening internal weaknesses and maximizing opportunities with the hope of prioritizing tourism development areas in Bangli Regency. Keywords: Tourist Attractions, SWOT Analysis, Bangli Regency

In this research undertaking, results of the research findings about the Employee Engagement and Commitment, Communication Skills and Talent Management Competencies of Tourism Professionals in Cairo, Egypt are presented regarding its extent, how commendable are their communication skills, and the extent of their Talent Management Competencies (TMC), and further looked into whether or not there are significant correlations between and among the independent variables. The tourism professionals who were the respondents of the study comprised of the Travel Agents, Academic Professionals, Hotel Managers, Tour Operators, Event & Conference Organizers, Tour Guides, Executive Chefs, and PR Managers in Cairo, Egypt. The research method used in this research undertaking is descriptive correlational; a questionnaire was used as a data collection method which was distributed to tourism professionals, and utilizing the SPSS statistical software with the Mean to determine the extent, to determine the significance of correlation between and among the paired variables, Pearson r was used, to determine the significance of difference between the dependent and independent variables, Mann Whitney U Test and Kruskal-Wallis Test were used. The conduct of this research investigation is an important issue, and was considered by the researchers as very meaningful and important to explore internationally and specifically in Cairo, Egypt in particular, since the findings of this research study may lead to the introduction of new programs and curriculum for Tourism and hospitality industry, the encouragement of professional staff to enhance the purposes of work in tourism, the human resources potential management into companies, enabling continuous professional training and employees to advance in their careers and to create careers in the field of tourism and hospitality industry. Moreover, the results of this research endeavor will be very essential for tourism professionals considering Tourism’s contribution to global trade and economic growth, its contribution in promoting socioeconomic growth and development, sustainable tourism development, advancing tourism’s contribution to poverty reduction and development, promoting employment through fostering knowledge, education and capacity-building, and in creating synergies and partnership across tourism sectors. The result showed a great extent on the identified indicators, except on Talent management competencies; the independent variables, when correlated, showed that they do not influence each one’s extent, except between Engagement and Commitment and their Communication Skills; which may imply that the tourism professionals maybe more engaged and committed if they have commendable communication skills as they work in the tourism industry to accommodate their clients. On the other hand, no significant differences exist in the Tourism Professionals’ Engagement and Commitment (EC), Communication Skills and Talent Management Competencies (TMC) when categorized in terms of their educational qualification, marital status and sector where they are employed. Conclusively, results of this research undertaking will provide information and research data for leaders and managers, human resource managers and/or human resource specialists working in the human resources department of selected tourism industries, agencies, and organizations concerned to design programs and activities to increase interest in Tourism Labor and cope with the challenge of overcoming the uncertainties towards tourism employment, most specifically on socio-cultural issues, create a strong coordination with curriculum specialists to embed in their tourism curriculum an emphasis of the possibilities of employment in the industry for young school-leavers, the working conditions, career opportunities, diversity, international exposure, remuneration, and other factors. For future research directions, the researchers recommend future researchers to look into the evaluation of professional management techniques that are used in the hospitality sectors with focus on Hospitality and Customer Satisfaction, Tourism and Hospitality Marketing, Hospitality Management, Marketing and Service Quality Management, Foodservice Consumer Choice and Services Strategies, Strategic Management in the Hospitality Industry, Hospitality Marketing and Service Experience and Human Resource Management. Keywords: Tourism Professionals, Engagement, Commitment, Communication Skills, Talent Management Competencies DOI : 10.7176/JTHS/40-05

Tourism, one of the foremost services in the global economy, is a multi-complex system with travel, food, accommodation, leisure, and events. Tourism competitiveness is diverse, where each destination is enriched with unique resource endowments and strategies to enlighten. Within this notion, the COVID-19 pandemic is an external shock affecting global economies. This chapter applies Porter's diamond model to the tourism sector in Sri Lanka to enhance the competitiveness within the COVID-19 pandemic. A study sample has been derived by prioritizing locked-down areas due to COVID-19 by targeting key stakeholders. Within the light of scholarly works-based diamond model, six facets have been qualitatively discussed. As findings, stakeholders' vulnerability to external shocks is highlighted as the most vital facet. Main recommendations include (1) minimizing economic leakages, (2) destination re-branding, (3) product differentiations, (4) entrepreneurship development, (5) domestic eco-friendly travels, (6) special interest tourism (SIT), and (7) e-promotions.

Purpose: The tourism industry is one of the most dynamic in the world over due to the fact that customers’ needs and demands are always changing. Furthermore, the environment in which the sector operates in is also changing so fast in terms of technological advancement and effects of climate change. This therefore calls for shift in the delivery of service and development of innovating ways in the Tourism and hospitality sector for its survival and growth. The study focused on the flexibility of the hotels to adapt to changes in the environment, its resilience in coping with the Covid-19 pandemic and the new innovations and creativity that helped the industry bounce back post Covid-19. The main objective was to examine the challenges that the tourism industry experienced during the Covid-19 period and establish the new innovations and business models adopted by 4- and 5-Star hotels in the tourism and hospitality industry in Kenya enabled the establishments to navigate through the challenges to resume hotel operations. 
 Methodology: The study was undertaken through online surveys in eighty-eight 4- and 5-Star hotels in Kenya with the respondents being hotel managers. Data was collected using a quantitative approach and adopted a cross-sectional research design. The data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistical techniques. 
 Findings: The findings revealed enhanced use of technological and digital innovations in operational areas that comprised contactless reservation and check-in systems, new products and packaging, new ways and means of retailing/delivering the products and services to the customers without physical contact, cashless payment solutions, revised standard operating procedures in housekeeping and food and beverage service, safety, security and hygiene protocols and food production and dispensing. In addition, new opportunities for new markets were created and products diversified. The innovations have also created an avenue for tourism and hospitality trainers to review and realign curricula and mode of service to be in tandem with the changes in the socio-economic environment.
 Recommendations: The study adds to the growing body of literature on new innovative ways used in the hospitality and tourism sector by leveraging on technology in the digital era. The findings of the study can be applied in the hotels in Kenya and beyond. It also recommends the development of a policy framework for collaboration and partnership for the region to facilitate and enhance tourism within East Africa and the Africa.