Browsing by Author "Premarathna, U.A.D."

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How abortive site planning influences to achieve target benefits of the concept of sustainable development of tourism
(Research Centre for Social Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Premarathna, U.A.D.
The Concept of sustainable development of tourism is one of the appropriate concepts related to tourism in the modern global tourism industry which has to meet social, environmental and economic requirements in order to fulfil the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations meeting their own needs. Mahapelessa Hot spring, also known as Madunagala Hot Spring is one of the major tourist attractions in the Southern province which is maintained by the Ruhunu Tourist Bureau. The local residents have started to be involved directly and indirectly with tourism activities by selling local foods and productions for travelers in temporary retail shops. Under the tourism development projects through the bureau, tourism infrastructure has been developed in year 2013 and the Madunagala Hot Water Spring Park has been launched with perfect site planning and with a vehicle park outside. The local residents who are sold goods in temporary shelters got permanent established shops for their businesses. A qualitative survey has done by verbally interviewing 25 retail shop holders among a total of 27 shops located at the Madunagala Hot Water Spring Park. During the survey it was identified that, only a very limited number of shops, such as11 of 27 shops are usually visited by customers. According to the land arrangement, other shops which are located far from the tourist activities suffer with problems of low selling and low customers even though there is a considerable site plan for the hot water spring park. The key objective of the survey is to identify the influence of weak site arrangements for local residents’ involvements in tourism and their bad outcomes .The highest percentage of shop owners, which is 88%, is women. Aggressive competition among other shops, relating grievance with customers, trying to sell any product to any person by craving are the bad outcomes of the issue and their only purpose is to get a commensurable income per a day. Even the authorities are not willing to change building structures. Selling products under a classification is one of the best solutions to solve these impacts but, the acceptances of the solution by local residents will be another problem with their educational background which is mostly insufficient.
Practice of using Asian Elephants in Labour in Modern Tourism Industry
(Centre for Asian Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Premarathna, U.A.D.
From the past, the practice of using animals in labour is a common tradition all over the world. According to the sources; chronicles and inscriptions usage of elephants in labour has been rooted into a long history in Sri Lanka. Royal people’s transportation, battles, draught for building and construction, participation for cultural and religious performances are some purposes that needed elephant labour in Sri Lanka from the past. The travelrs, both in the past and in modern tourism industry have continuously been attracted to Elephas maximus maximus, the Sri Lankan or Ceylon elephant as a result of their common usage in tourism industry. Elephant riding or travelling on an elephant is one of the popular tourist activities in modern tourism segments like wedding and honeymoon tourism, cultural heritage tourism and adventure tourism. This research focused on identifying the essential facts of elephant usage for elephant riding as a tourist activity available in Sri Lanka. Then identifying the versions of elephant ridings and identifying the purpose of including elephant rides by service providers for their tourism activities are also focused on in the research. The primary data collection was done by the library review to identify the historical background of elephant usage in labour and tourism related activities from the past. A survey was done around three sites where elephant riding is available. Sigiriya is a world heritage site with elephant riding as a sub activity of cultural heritage tourism. Kaluthara – North beach area is popular for elephant riding for wedding and honeymoon tourism. The buffer zone of Udawalawa national park is the third site where elephant riding is available as an activity of wild life tourism. According to the survey service providers include elephant rides in their tour packages with several price ranges to earn maximum profit by elephant usage in labour.
A Study on the Lack of Motivation in Learning Foreign Languages among Undergraduates
(Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Premarathna, U.A.D.
The University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka provides the opportunity for the undergraduates to learn a number of foreign languages at the main subject level and at the certificate course level. Despite of such opportunities, a lack of motivation in learning foreign languages including English is apparent among the undergraduates. The purpose of this study is to identify the reasons for this lack of language learning motivation at the university level. Two surveys have been carried out for this purpose, the first being a survey with 50 randomly selected undergraduates from special first year, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of Kelaniya. Data was collected through questionnaires. The highest percentage, which is 52% of the sample do not learn any foreign language. As identified by this research, the major reason is a language anxiety situation resulted by the unsatisfactory skills is English, due to which the students hesitate to learn a foreign language which is entirely new to them. The second survey has been conducted with 100 graduands who had learned languages at the University of Kelaniya. Their current job positions and the way their language skills have helped them in pursue of employment opportunities were identified here. The highest percentage, which is 29% are involved in jobs related to tourism industry in which the foreign language skills are highly required. 22% of the sample are involved in jobs related to academic fields including language teaching. According to the first survey, getting a job is the prime expectation of undergraduates. A total of 94% percentage of the graduands of the second survey have satisfactory language skills. Thus, it is recommended that university language courses are prepared with more focus on employment opportunities, so that the motivation towards learning foreign languages will increase.
Using the Sculpture and Engravings of Asian Elephants as Souvenirs in Modern Tourism Industry
(Centre for Asian Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Premarathna, U.A.D.
From the past the Asian elephant has taken an honorable place in Sri Lankan traditional sculpture and engraving arts among other animals as a result of their high imperial body type and intelligence. The cultural tourism or cultural heritage tourism highly focuses on the tangible and intangible cultural heritage of a country. The travelers, both in the past and in modern tourism industry are continuously attracted to Elephas maximus maximus, the Sri Lankan or Ceylon elephant. In this situation sculpture and engraving arts with elephants have high demand as travel souvenirs in modern Sri Lankan tourism industry. Two main objectives have been considered in the research. First is identifying existing souvenirs related to elephants available in the market and their special varieties. The second objective is focused on identifying special features for new varieties of souvenirs to motivate the buyer to involve in the conservation of elephants through attitudes. The primary data collection was done by the library review to identify cultural and traditional values of sculpture and engraving arts and crafts with Asian elephants’ image and their core materials from the past. A survey was conducted around three sites famous for elephants in Sri Lanka that have both the cultural and natural value in the island; the tooth relic temple complex in Kandy, the elephant orphanage in Pinnawala and the elephant transit home in Udawalawe. The souvenirs production is based on three major themes; traditional concepts based themes, scenic themes and traditional and scenic mixed themes. The authenticity of tourist attraction is directly influenced for above themes, their materials and tourists’ demands for the souvenirs. Traditional theme based souvenirs are currently popular among tourists and the demand of scenic themes and mixed theme based souvenirs can be developed in the future souvenir market.