Browsing by Author "Senarathna, T.M.C.D."

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6

Attracting Chinese Tourists to Sri Lanka for a sustainable Tourism Industry
(Centre for Chinese Studies, Department of Modern Languages, Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Senarathna, T.M.C.D.
The Conflict between Man and Elephant-A Case Study (Ulukkulama Village in Anuradhapura)
(Centre for Asian Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Senarathna, T.M.C.D.
The elephant, which is the largest territorial herbivore on the earth, make this island a paradise. The density ratio between man and elephant is 5000:1. The conflict between man and elephant is increasing daily particularly in rural areas. Elephants are forcefully entering villages and seeking food and water, because of the decrease of elephants’ habitat. They wander into villages and cultivated areas which were their previous habitats. The Ulukkulama village which is situated in Anuradhapura district has been selected as the study area in the research. The main objective of the research is to identify new mechanisms to avoid and decrease the conflict between man and elephant. The elephants, whose current habitats are located in Wilpattu National park are used to migrating into some villages which were their earlier habitats and they arrive from Willpattu National park in search of food from the village cultivations and destroy the entire cultivation in one night. Meanwhile several attacks were recorded in the area. Paddy cultivation is the most threatened crop in this conflict. It was recorded that the elephants prefer to have paddy. Field observations and interviews were used as data collecting methods. Locals in this area are implementing some tactics to get rid of the conflict. Noises, lights, flat forms on trees or hut, hooting, erecting electronic fences and keeping hakkapaus and gunpowder can be taken as the examples. Several recommendations have been made to mitigate the conflict between man and elephant. Erecting electric fences without blocking their traditional elephant corridors, dispelling elephants to new locations especially dangerous elephants (Horopathana wild elephant conservation and detainer centre-3500 Acr), paying attention to elephant corridors and opening it to elephants for their accustomed trails, educating people to plant lime and Hana as well as gathering beehives in locals’ houses are among them.
The Effectiveness of Word of mouth in Generating Tourists to the Destination of Sri Lanka: A study with Special Reference to the City of Kandy
(4th International Conference on Social Sciences 2018, Research Centre for Social Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Senarathna, T.M.C.D.; Wijesaooriya, M.W.A.T.N.
Tourism sector is one of the most important foreign exchange generating industries in Sri Lanka. On the other hand, the industry is highly based on services compared to other major industries in the country. Therefore, it generates a large amount of direct and indirect job opportunities to the Sri Lankan job market and contribute tremendously to resolve many problems in the country. Most tourists travel to Sri Lanka by finding details using different sources such as internet, books, magazines, and with the help of word of mouth through friends and relatives. Here, the word of mouth is simply what happens when a tourists’ interest in a destination’s product or service is reflected in their day-to-day conversations. If the travel experience is satisfactory to a tourist, the word of mouth creates a positive image of a destination. Majority of tourists rely on their friends and relatives’ words on travel experiences to get the best experience. The research problem of the study was “is the word of mouth a considerable factor in generating a large flow of tourists to Sri Lanka”. And also the main objective of the research was to identify the effectiveness of word of mouth in attracting tourists to the destination of Sri Lanka. The study was mainly based on quantitative and qualitative data, and randomly selected 50 tourists in the city of Kandy were interviewed and used structured questionnaires and conversations to gather data while referring to internet, books and magazines were also done. While 58 % of tourists responded that they have highly depended on their friends’ and relatives’ responses in selecting the destination of Sri Lanka to get maximum satisfaction out of the travel, 36% of the respondents referred to web-sites and social Media to explore the beauty, activities, regulations, people, history and culture of the particular destination to travel. Therefore, the word of mouth is playing a vital role in generating a high level of visiting by tourists to the country and services, facilities and friendliness of people highly contribute in creating a positive word of mouth with regard to Sri Lanka. Therefore, it is easy to create a positive word of mouth and well attracted image on the island of Sri Lanka by offering well-organized services and diversified products beyond the satisfaction, updating tourism relevant web-sites using heart touching photographs, documentaries and information
Kudagama Gypsies’s village as an attraction informative source for Tourists
(Department of Library and Information Science, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Senarathna, T.M.C.D.
Kudagama Gypsies village in Thambuttegama is a unique destination that has traditional and cultural values its own. Research problem was how to attract foreign visitors to Kudagama Gypsies village. Principal objective was to identify the potential for promoting Kudagama village among foreign visitors. Research was based on both primary sources including field observations, interviews and structured questionnaires while secondary sources used including reports, magazines,web sites etc.The sample was consisted of 50 foreign visitors who were randomly selected at Anuradhapura sacred area. Visitors were interviewed with structured questionnaires to identify their perception, knowledge, the way that they easily can log in to gain knowledge and comments regarding the new destination. Most of gypsy people are used to travel here and there performing cultural uniqueness as their traditional livelihood (snake charming, monkeys’ performances, python handling and fortune telling). These are uniqueness that they have. Thus this traditional culture cannot be compared with an another culture moreover. Dilmah conservation group has introduced a promotional program to promote its uniqueness to tourism industry establishing a museum, an open air theater and a cultural center in 2013. The visitor related services and infrastructure facilities were not in a satisfied level in the program. Although it has enough sanitary facilities and well-established construction system, the management of Dilmah group didn’t pay attention on a proper maintained system. There should be a proper site management plan and visitors should be given a well-planned promotional campaign to have an enough perception on the site and unique community moreover. Also The government sector and private sector should pay attention on the project allocating funds, including the new product in their tour packages, giving a vast dissemination in their promotional campaigns (trade fairs, conferences and promotional documentaries etc.). Meanwhile living statues of the locals and the quality of their lifestyle should be upgraded to uplift community’s revenue furthermore.
The Potentials in Promoting Ayurvedic Tourism as an Alternative Product in the City of Anuradhapura
(4th International Conference on Social Sciences 2018, Research Centre for Social Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Senarathna, T.M.C.D.
Tourism industry is one of the exclusive foreign exchange generating industries in Sri Lanka. The industry has many potentials to answer lot of problems such as poverty, unemployment, less regional development of rural areas and the low advancement of infrastructure facilities of the country. To get rid of these issues, tourism products should be differentiated to attract more tourists to gain solutions for the above mentioned problems. Ayurvedic tourism which is the concept of tourism related to Ayurvedic medical treatments can be identified as one of the best tourism products that can be added value to differentiate the tourism product to generate more and more tourists to the country. Currently a large number of tourists who are travelling to Anuradhapura belongs to the group of senior citizens. Therefore, it is apparent that this alternative market product can immensely be promoted among this target market. The key objective of the research was to identify the potentials to promote Ayurvedic tourism in the city of Anuradhapura. The study was mainly based on quantitative and qualitative data and the sample was consisted of 50 tourists who were randomly selected in the Ancient city of Anuradhapura. It was revealed that, 68 % of tourists belonged 45-55 age group and it was identified that there was a strong possibility to promote Ayurvedic tourism among these aged people as it is one of the basic needs of these aged groups. Also 70% of them preferred to stay in Ayurvedic hotels while they are in Anuradhapura and 90% agreed that they like to purchase Ayurvedic products which strengthen them both physically and mentally. Enhancing the involvement of both government and private sector for creating an efficient and well-attracted product, updating tourism related web-sites showing the healing power of the Ayurvedic medicine, informing travel companies to include Ayurvedic products into their tour packages and introducing tourism promotional campaigns specially focused on Ayurvedic products to gain attention can be identified as the recommendations of the research
A Study of the Tourism Industry’s Impact on Visitors’ Satisfaction with a Special Focus on Anuradhapura
(Research Centre for Social Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Senarathna, T.M.C.D.
Anuradhapura is one of the remarkable and ancient cities in Sri Lanka. It is a highly popular destination among historical sites in Sri Lanka leading to cultural tourism, one of the fastest growing tourism niche markets in mass tourism. It encompasses exquisite scenery, religious monuments, tanks, and monasteries etc. Annually, a large number of tourists travel to Anuradhapura to experience the historical value it offers. But there are several problems related to visitor satisfaction when it comes to facilities in the sacred city of Anuradhapura. The research problem of this study was to examine how visitor-satisfaction among those visiting Anuradhapura can be created. The other objectives were to recognize the deficits and issues encountered by the visitors at the site. The research was based on both primary sources including field observations, interviews and structured questionnaires and secondary sources including reports, magazines, websites etc. The site and its periphery were explored and the visitor-related facilities were observed to identify the current situation of the site. The research sample consisted of 20 domestic visitors and 50 foreign visitors who were randomly selected at the site during weekends in Anuradhapura. Visitors were interviewed with structured questionnaires to identify their perception, knowledge and comments regarding the site. The destination attracts domestic visitors more than foreign visitors. Many of the foreigners are from China and the other major markets are German, India and Thailand. Many of the domestic visitors are not entirely aware of the archaeological and historical value of Anuradhapura and visitor-related services and infrastructure facilities also are not at a satisfactory level for the well-being of travelers. In addition, there are many problems related to languages and an adequate experience is not delivered.