International Conference on Applied Social Statistics (ICASS)

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An Analysis on Present Scenario of Small Scale Tea Production in Sri Lanka: With Special Reference to Matara District
(International Conference on Applied Social Statistics (ICASS) - 2019, Department of Social Statistics, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2019) Chamika, T. P. D.
Tea is a major cash crop that is grown in Sri Lanka. It taken significant place in the plantation economy. Sri Lanka's tea production occupies a prominent place in the local economy and in the world market. Moreover, the tea-production sector offers employment opportunities for households, particularly in rural and mountainous regions. Sri Lanka has become the fourth largest producer and third largest tea exporter in the world by 2016 (Sri Lanka Tea Boards 2016). Tea has been biggest provider of exporting earning, employment and government revenue. The total contribution of the agriculture sector to Sri Lanka's GDP is about 6.9 percent, with tea contributing 0.7 percent. As a large and small scale production are in the country. Tea lands lesser than ten acres as per the tea control act are considered as tea smallholdings. The smallholders are the largest contributors to Sri Lanka’s tea production. Given the importance of tea plantation, the recent trend is to increase the contribution of smallholder tea estate successes year on year, exceeding the importance of large tea estates. The Tea Small Holding Division had made the highest contribution to the overall tea output of Sri Lanka.
Assessing the Glass Ceiling Effect on Women in the Tourism Industry of Sri Lanka
(International Conference on Applied Social Statistics (ICASS) - 2019, Department of Social Statistics, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2019) Embuldeniya, A.
Tourism is one of the major industries in Sri Lanka that under the service sector and more specifically belong to the accommodation and food service activities. The annual report 2018 highlighted that the tourism industry has recorded substantial growth 11.6 in percent in year 2018 while achieving earning to US dollars 4.4 billion. Also Sri Lanka is one of the highly attracted country with different cultures, archaeological place, adventurous places, historic places, natural places etc. There by the tourism industry witnessing an investment to fulfill the demands of increasing number of tourists. The annual report 2018 has emphasized that tourist arrivals has recorded a substantial growth of 10.3 percent in 2018 in compared to 3.2 Percent growth in year 2017. Sri Lanka has attracted more tourists through a successive agendas with heritage, culture, nature, accommodation, foods, services, recreation etc. Thereby employment opportunities also emerged in in each and every related fields of tourism such as hotels and restaurants, travel agents and tour operators, airlines, agencies providing recreation facilities, tourist shops, guides, national tourist organization, and state sector as well. Central Bank 2018 share that there was a decline in female labour force by 6.7 percent in 2018 where compared to 2017. This decline is not only from the tourism industry but also from all the economic sectors as a whole
Capital Structure and Firm Performance: With Special Reference to the Commercial Banks and Manufacturing Firms in Sri Lanka
(International Conference on Applied Social Statistics (ICASS) - 2019, Department of Social Statistics, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2019) Premarathne, W.G.I.D.; Wijesinghe, M.R.P.
In addition to the other financial services, commercial banks are institutions that play a pivotal role in financial intermediation. They play an imperative role in an economy especially financing economic activities. Improvement in the performance of commercial banks would in turn increase their role in an economy (Terraza, 2015; Sufian, 2011; Pasioura & Kosmidou, 2007). In addition to that the manufacturing sector of a country plays a vital role in boosting the economy through value addition and it is the second largest sector in the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE). Further, number of manufacturing firms in Sri Lankan context is growing rapidly, as indicated by number of companies listed on the CSE drawing our attention back to the sector today. For both the sectors, capital structure decision is an important decision since the profitability of an enterprise is directly affected by such decision. Capital structure is described as the combination of debt and equity. One crucial issue challenging to the managers today is how to determine the combination of debt and equity to achieve optimum capital structure that would minimize the firm’s cost of capital and improves return to owners of the business (Vitor & Badu, 2012). The study identified the firm size as a variable of scholarly interest, due to the fact of, it’s traditionally having much explanatory power, and an understanding of its importance, which has identified as vital for managers who operate in today’s competitive environments (Kioko, 2013). In today’s world, being on the phenomenon of economies of scale, the size of a firm is taking as a crucial factor for a firm’s success. However, modern corporate firms also, seem to be looking to increase their size so as to get a competitive edge over their competitors through multiple ways ( Luqman, Ilo, Lawal, & Fatai , 2017). The study will make multiple contributions to the literature on capital structure, firm size and financial performance through the investigation of the precise composition of capital structure and firm size that maximizes the shareholders return and impacts positively on a bank’s financial performance. And additionally, the study will come in handy to support the government, and regulators in their quest to streamline operations in the banking sector putting in mind that the economy as a whole inch on how the banking sector performs as inappropriate resource allocation can hinder the growth in the economy while paying attention on the manufacturing sector of the country parallel.
Does Aging Population Strain on Economic Growth in Sri Lanka?
(International Conference on Applied Social Statistics (ICASS) - 2019, Department of Social Statistics, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2019) Gunathilaka, G.Y.N.
Increase in life expectancy and the decline in fertility rate increase the elderly population in a country making an imbalance in the population pyramid. By the year 2050 approximately two billion people will be aged 60 years and over and 400 million people will be aged 80 years and over globally (United Nations, 2013). Population aging has become a global phenomenon which has significant impacts on economic areas and it is both a triumph and a challenge. Increase in aging population increase old age dependency ratio. According to Hock and weil (2012), increment in old age dependency ratio is expected to reduce the disposable income of the working population and lead to further decline in the fertility rate. Theoretically, according to Bloom et al., (2003), increase in aging population makes positive, negative or neutral effect on macroeconomic growth in an economy. Physical capacity, consumption preferences and needs will change when an individual is getting old. An aging population leads to lower labor-force participation which will directly affect the country’s level of production, savings, taxation, transfer of wealth from one generation to another and finally to slowdown the economic growth. According to Prettner (2013), older individuals tend to save more and as a result, they provide more resources for investment, which positively affects economic growth. Lee and Mason (2007) indicated that increase in the elderly population will reduce the per capita income of all three generations of child, working group, and retiree and lead to a net decrease in the family’s total consumption level. Both the developed and developing countries are currently facing economic problems of global population ageings which affect economic growth dynamics of consumption and saving patterns (Albuquerque and Lopes, 2010; Li et al., 2012), human capital (Sharpe, 2011; Gobel and Zwick., 2012), and public social spending. In the very near future, Sri Lanka is becoming a country having the oldest people in the non-developed world and also one of the fastest aging countries in the world, like a more developed country. The proportion of elderly population in Sri Lanka is higher among the South Asian countries. In 2001, over 9% of Sri Lanka’s populations were 60 years of age and over, which is a relatively large elderly population for a developing country (United Nations,2003). Therefore, it is essential to examine the burden of aging population and prepare long term plans and innovations to mitigate the adverse effects of population aging. Hence, the current research and development and government policies should have to concern aging population in the country. In the context of increasing aging population, the time series analysis of the relationship between aging population and economic growth will be a significant research area for a developing country like Sri Lanka which was less focused before.
The Empirical study on Potentials to Developing Rail Tourism in Sri Lanka - Evidence from Colombo – Badulla Railway Route
(International Conference on Applied Social Statistics (ICASS) - 2019, Department of Social Statistics, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2019) Fernando, N. F. B. T.; Madhusankha, W.A.I.; Samarasekara, E.A.S.I.
Rail tourism is a niche tourism segment and activities of persons traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for engage with Rail Tourism activities include short train rides, railroad park observations, museum visitations, and special events, such as rail fairs, festivals and days. Rail tourism provides potential economic benefits as a means of business and heritage identity (Philip, case study of Rail Tourism, 2012). Current situation of tourism in Sri Lanka is not much focused on rail tourism sector and there were no statistical data or annual reports with responsible authority to indicate on international tourists who are travel using train. But according to the Ministry of Transport “Sri Lankan tourism industry is booming and can achieve higher revenue through the promotion of railroad tourism, if developed and market appropriately” (Sri Lanka by rail Article, 2012).
Factors associated with destination image on tourists’ revisit: With reference to Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka
(International Conference on Applied Social Statistics (ICASS) - 2019, Department of Social Statistics, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2019) Fernando, A. L. B.; Perera, P. G. T. N.; Liyanage, L.N.
As tourism is one of the prominent sectors in the Sri Lankan economy, number of research studies have been done in order to find the impact of tourism income on the economic development. For the purpose of gaining higher income through tourism, it is essential to have a continuous tourist arrival. To achieve that, revisit intention of tourists is a significant factor. The major identified factors affecting tourist revisit intention include satisfaction (Choo & Petrick, 2014; Ranjbarian & Pool, 2015; Um et al., 2006) perceived value (Petrick et al., 2001; Campo-Martinez et al., 2010), past vacation experience (Chen & Gursoy, 2001; Kozak, 2001), sense of security (Chen & Gursoy, 2001), image (Allameh et al., 2014; Pratminingsih et al., 2014; Hallmann et al., 2015; Tan & Wu, 2016), attachment (Petrick, 2004), and cultural difference (Chen & Gursoy, 2001). Out of these, destination image consists of the overall beliefs, ideas and impressions consumers have about a place or destination. Studies analyzing destination image and revisit intention have shown a positive effect between destination image and revisiting behaviour of tourists (Rittichainuwat et al., 2001; Tasci & Gartner, 2007). Destination image consists of cognitive and affective images (Beerli & Martin, 2004). Cognitive images are visible elements (eg landscape, cleanliness), or psychological elements (impression about atmosphere and hospitality). Affective images comprise of the feelings or emotions a tourist generates about a given destination (Martin & Bosque, 2008). Therefore, this study aims to examine the factors associated with destination image on the revisit intention of tourists.
Factors Associated with Social Media on Consumer Adoption in Tourism (With Special reference to Kandy).
(International Conference on Applied Social Statistics (ICASS) - 2019, Department of Social Statistics, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2019) Liyanage, L.N.
With the development of computer and Internet technology, social media have been widely used. During the last decade, an explosion of user-driven web technologies: blogs, social networks and media sharing platforms have been occurred. In the modern world, Social media play an important role in the consumer’s decision-making procedure. The growth of social media has led to new methods of pursuing and gaining information about various products and services in the market. It has facilitated consumers to associate and discuss different service or product providers easily (Chung and Koo, 2015). As tourism is an information-intensive industry it is necessary to understand the fluctuations or the deviations in the technologies that influence on the distribution and approachability of information regarding the travel (Xiang and Gretzel, 2010). Sri Lanka, as one of the countries with high usage of social media, has more than 6.2 million active social media users while in the world its more than 3.48 billion users. Among the most popular social media sites, Facebook gets the first place with 6 million active users, while Instagram has 1.1 million active users and Twitter has 182.5 thousand users for the last year (Hootsuite, 2019). One of the main advantage of social media is that it acts as as an effective communication media in the tourism industry were found by the authors in the literature (Desai and Eric, 2015; Verma, Stock and Mc Carthy (2012): Schu‑ ckert et al, 2015). Through these data it is cleared that social media sites are very popular in the country and it can be used as an effective tool for marketing in the field of tourism, in order to reach very large part of population. On the other hand, Sri Lanka is one of the greatest tourist destinations. The existing literature about social media generally emphases on the features of social media. However, researches about the factors associated with social media on adoption intention in of tourism sector is rare. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the factors related to social media that effect adoption intention in tourism.
Identification formats and levels in Machine Readable Cataloging Standards for Library Automation of University Libraries in Sri Lanka
(International Conference on Applied Social Statistics (ICASS) - 2019, Department of Social Statistics, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2019) Rathnayaka, D.; Wasala, W. M. T. A. P.
Operating all library functions by using computers without manual activities is Library Automation. Library automation has been developed for library in-house operations including acquisition, cataloguing, circulation, serial controls, user controls, budgeting and reporting such as selective dissemination of information. Library Management Systems (LMS) are being used to automate most of the university libraries in Sri Lanka. In 1960, Computers had been used for cataloguing purposes (Ghaebi et al., 2010). The functions included in LMS are mainly based on the Cataloguing standard. For example, KOHA was created depending on MARC standards. Machine Readable Catalogue (MARC) is not only a cataloguing function but, a method of cataloguing based on computer or machine and it is a scientific format for creating and identifying bibliographical information in LMS. During 1965 to 1966, MARC I was published under the project named “Pilot Project” eventually MARC II in 1967(Ghaebi et al., 2010, Henriette, 1968). MARC 21 was published after IFLA - UNESCO conference in 1972. UNIMARC, CANMARC, UKMARC, INDOMARC are some of the MARC standards which were introduced later (Ghaebi et al., 2010). Fifteen government Universities under University Grants Commission have been used both Open Source Library Management Systems (OSLMS) and Commercial Library Management Systems (CLMS) for library automation. KOHA OSLMS was used twelve out of fifteen university libraries, other universities used CLMS for the library activities in January 2019.
Impact of External Factors on Service Quality of Travel Agency (With special reference to Green Holiday Centre (Pvt) Ltd)
(International Conference on Applied Social Statistics (ICASS) - 2019, Department of Social Statistics, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2019) Idroos, A. A.; Ranaweera, R. A. A. K.; Madhusankha, W. A. I.
Green Holiday Centre is a medium scale travel agency operating its services on the inbound tour operations in Sri Lanka. They mainly consist with four markets such as Indian, Eastern Europe, China and other markets. Out of the markets recently the china market has a drop in the company, according to the SLTDA statistics during these period china arrivals has been rapidly increasing. Though the company Chinese market has been declined still the factors from the side of the organization kept constant. Hence researcher assumes that this decline would be due to the external factors. Therefore, this research mainly focuses on identifying the guest satisfactory level of the external factors and to find the relationship between external factors and the service quality of the travel Agency
Impact of Intrinsic Factors on Extended Career Prospects of Women in Logistics Industry in Sri Lanka
(International Conference on Applied Social Statistics (ICASS) - 2019, Department of Social Statistics, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2019) Kosgoda, T.M.; Jayasundara, A.K.C.H.
Logistics and shipping are an inter-wined connection that allows the smooth flow of goods and information from point of origin to the point of destination. This industry is blooming worldwide and there is a pre-convinced idea of the industry and the perception revolving around the public mind that the logistics and shipping job is undoubtedly suitable for men but not for women. Logistics and shipping industry where there signals a lack of women’s representation is mostly highlighted that, there is a "Glass Ceiling", a hypothetical term to describe the gender inequality in the managerial sector. According to the report by Women in Supply Chain (2010) the “Glass Ceiling” (Hede, 1995) has been shown to be misleading as a theory of managerial inequity in that it incorrectly implies there is only a single barrier at the top and that there are no further problems once a women break through it. However, a myriad of problems still has to be faced by women, although a woman breaks the "Glass Ceiling".
Importance of Engineering Ethics in Business Environment- With Reference to Views of Engineering Students
(International Conference on Applied Social Statistics (ICASS) - 2019, Department of Social Statistics, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2019) Wijesinghe, D.P.S.; Jayawardane, V.P.T.
Professional engineers have a huge responsibility towards the general public and employers. Engineering Ethics guide and remind professional engineers regarding their responsibilities. However, most of the engineers have to work in business environments irrespective of their technical disciplines. Therefore, every day in their professional life engineers have to deal with ethically difficult situations in business activities. Expertise in engineering, Business Management and Engineering Ethics is highly required for professional engineers in order to discharge their services in a sustainable manner. However, existing literature reveals that majority of engineering undergraduates from most of the countries are having less interest and attention towards non-technical subjects like Engineering Ethics. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to identify the perception of Sri Lankan engineering students on Engineering Ethics
Intra-Regional Tourism as a Soft Power tool of Small States: Comparative Study of Sri Lanka and Cambodia
(International Conference on Applied Social Statistics (ICASS) - 2019, Department of Social Statistics, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2019) Wijesinghe, H.
It is beyond doubt that power is recognized as one of the central yet problematic concepts in international relations. As identified by Joseph Nye, power is like weather. Everyone depends on it and talks about it, but few understands it (2004, p.04). Power can be simply defined as the ability to achieve one’s purposes and goals. In his epic work, “Politics among Nations” Hans J Morgenthau proclaims that international politics like all politics is a struggle for power. Whatever the ultimate aim of international politics, power is always the immediate aim (Morgenthau, 1948, p.13). Nye (2004) distinguishes between two forms of power, namely soft power and hard power. According to him, hard power refers to the ability to use the carrots and sticks of economic and military might to make others follow your will (ibid). On the other hand, soft power is defined as the ability to get what you want through attraction rather than coercion or payment, which includes culture, values and foreign policies. Soft power rests on the ability to set the political agenda in a way that shapes the preferences of others (ibid). According to Chang (2007), soft power is emerging and getting more influential in today’s global information space and it has less hard support. As far as small states are concerned, while there is so much literature available on small states, there is no consensus when it comes to defining small states. According to Chang (2007), small states suffer from a definitional problem in both theory and political practice. However, for the purpose of the study, a small state is defined as a state which can never act alone and make a significant impact on the international system, using its quantitative or tangible elements of power. This inability to influence and attract the international community through tangible elements of power has made small states rely more on soft power as a source of influencing the international community and attaining national interests. As one of the world’s largest economic sectors, travel and tourism creates jobs, drives exports, and generates prosperity across the world (WTTC, 2018). As far as Cambodia and Sri Lanka are concerned, both countries rely heavily on tourism industry. Looking at the numbers, over the years the number of tourists visiting both the countries have increased significantly. Against this backdrop, the main objective of this study is to examine the relevance of intra-regional tourism for small states like Cambodia and Sri Lanka. It compares the where these two countries stand in the context of promoting and attracting tourists from their own regions.
Issues and Concerns of Pesticide Use in Agriculture: Exploring Facts from the Malwa Region of Indian Punjab
(International Conference on Applied Social Statistics (ICASS) - 2019, Department of Social Statistics, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2019) Kaur, S.; Singh, K.; Singh, H.
The Malwa region of Indian Punjab face a lot of environment and health issues due to the hazards, excessive, and unsafe use of pesticides, fertilizers, and poor groundwater quality. Cotton crop failure owing to white fly attack in Malwa region of Punjab in 2015 has proved environmental and climate changes have affected cropping pattern adversely that further leads to economic crisis of agrarian community.
Modeling and Forecasting the Usage of Cellular and Landline Phones in Sri Lanka
(International Conference on Applied Social Statistics (ICASS) - 2019, Department of Social Statistics, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2019) Karunarathne, A.W.S.P.; Perera, M.S.H.; Liyanage, U.P.
Cellular and landline phones are at the forefront of telecommunication. There are two major categories of phones namely cellular phones and landline phones. Landline phones can be classified into another two sub categories as fixed wire landline phone and fixed wireless landline phones. In this study, the total usage of those two categories have considered as the landline phone usage. Since, the mobile segment has instantly developed in Sri Lanka, there can be seen a significant decline in landline phones market.
Socio – Demographic Profile of Criminals Who Committed Homicides: in Relation to Mahara Prison
(International Conference on Applied Social Statistics (ICASS) - 2019, Department of Social Statistics, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2019) Kumara, S.W.P.
Homicide which is belongs to a grave crime category can be identified as a common crime to any society. Homicide is the killing of one human being by another (Adler, Muller and Laufer, 1991). Homicide can be explained simply as ‘the unlawful killing of a human being with malice aforethought’ (Kornblum and Julian, 1974). Assassinate a person with purposively is a homicide (The encyclopedia Americana, 1959). According to the police records, In Sri Lanka, homicides have been recorded from different areas of the country. In 2017, homicide rate for Sri Lanka was 2.3 cases per 100,000 populations. It is fluctuated the number of recorded homicides cases with the time. Homicide is caused by mix of factors and socio - demographic structure can be a risk factor for homicide. According to these facts it is essential to identify the socio – demographic profile of homicide criminals
Socio-Economic Determinants of Domestic Solid Waste Generation: Special Reference to Kesbewa Municipal Area, Sri Lanka
(International Conference on Applied Social Statistics (ICASS) - 2019, Department of Social Statistics, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2019) Perera, P. G. T. N.
The generation of Domestic Solid Waste (DSW) has become a growing environmental and public health problem, specifically in developing countries (Bandara et al, 2007). So the DSW management is a significant role of urban authorities and it is straightly interrelated with the protection of environmental wellbeing and human health and also it is indirectly interrelated with living standards of people. The rapid increase in solid waste generation due to accelerated urban population growth, unplanned urbanization, and increasing economic activities, has become a crucial problem in all countries regardless of the development status of them (Kwetey, 2014). With the current stage of rapid urbanization, relevant authorities in Sri Lanka are also suffering serious difficulties in addressing this problem. The waste generation amount in Sri Lanka has increased from around 6,400 ton/day in 1999 to 10,786 ton/day since 2009 due to the economic growth after the end of the civil war (JICA, 2016). According to critical view of literature, there are lack of preliminary and regular study has been conducted in Sri Lanka on this concerns. Sri Lanka does not draw attention to this problem may be heightened in the future in many folds than it is today unless alternatives are designed to address it and also findings of this study can be used to get information to implement the management system for solid waste
Sri Lankan Airlines as a Tourism Facilitattor
(International Conference on Applied Social Statistics (ICASS) - 2019, Department of Social Statistics, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2019) Wickramaratne, K.A.D.I.
Sri Lankan Airlines is the National Airline of Sri Lanka which offers numerous facilities in order to get the maximum customer satisfaction. The airline’s hubs are situated at Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake and Mahinda Rajapaksa International Airport in Mattala. Sri Lankan airlines operates flying over 114 destinations in 48 countries around the world. It is currently the largest airline in Sri Lanka. Every day they cater 25,000 meals and operate 24 hours and 365 days of the year. There are 800 employees working in the kitchen. It also includes fine –dining restaurant and they provide meals for the transit hotel at airport. Specially, they have fast reservation system to book through e-ticketing and time scheduling of check in. The benefit of this facility is that the customer can easily plan their traveling dates and time without going for tour operators using their own laptop or PC. There is diverse work force of 5900employees in Sri Lanka and overseas. These employees complete the training at IATA and the airline has a training school which offers two courses. They are, IATA training and the technical training. Mainly they promote the tourism with introduction of many programs such as tour packages, air taxi service for tourist attractions and micro tourism. According to that information, I believe the Sri Lankan Airline is one of the best organizations to implement and research marking strategies. There are lots of advantages for choosing this topic. The main reason is that the airline is directly linked to many businesses especially, the tourism business. Today, the tourism industry is developing faster than ever before. Each year nearly 1000000 tourists visit Sri Lanka and it is very important to provide efficient transportation to these tourists. Sri Lankan Airline has identified this and has expanded their service with domestic airline. This expands as well as the increase of tourist arrivals has resulted in the growth of other areas such as such as export and import, banking and telecommunication. Every year it creates many job opportunities and it increases the income level of all employees. There are number of services that they provide to the tourists. Such like cargo service, ground handling, mice, air taxi, etc. With the same number of facilities that they provide to the tourists. Elegant business class facilities, economy class facilities, maternity facilities, and facilities for differently able people, Wi-Fi connectivity facilities, on line seat booking facilities & etc. Likewise, the tourists will be able to experience number of facilities. The annual revenue shows that the growth of revenues. That means actually a lot of passengers carried through Sri Lankan airlines and they satisfied about the facilities of the airline. Moreover, that the more tourists used their services and experienced them a lot. That’s why that we can see the growth of the growth of annual financial revenues.
Stakeholders Perception on Bentota Tourism Industry
(International Conference on Applied Social Statistics (ICASS) - 2019, Department of Social Statistics, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2019) Wickramaratne, K.A.D.I.
Bentota is a famous tourist destination in Sri Lanka due to its ancient history, natural and cultural elements. Bentota is a beautiful village, located in the Galle district of the Southern province about 64km from South of Colombo. This area consists of natural attractions like very rare flora and fauna, a beautiful beach, famous Bentota river, cultural and archaeological attractions. The integrated facility in Bentota is an excellent model of sustainable tourism and a classic example of well planned development. Due to the unique features of the Bentota most of the stakeholders motivate to make tourism investments in this area. It is very important to state as to how tourism should be developed in a country, tourists to have a peaceful holiday, private sector to offer tourism facilities and local community to share tourism benefits. The post war scenario of Sri Lanka stimulates many aspects of the economy in particular. Among them Tourism and Hospitality industry is prominent. At the same time the perception of stakeholders is emphasized in the macro perspective as a strategy in strengthening the economy
Statistical and Mathematical Models for a Sustainable Cultivation Plan - A Brief Review of the Literature
(International Conference on Applied Social Statistics (ICASS) - 2019, Department of Social Statistics, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2019) Hakmanage, N.M.; Chandrasekara, N.V.; Jayasundara, D.D.M.
Due to rapid increase of population, demand for food is increasing. If the agricultural sector fails to supply and meet the rising demand of foods, it will affect the economy. This however requires finding viable solution that is balanced supply demand food chain. To fulfil subsistence food needs there should be a stationary state with proper cultivation plans in agricultural sector in a country. This study presents a review of the literature published between 1998 and 2019 on cultivation plans in the areas of statistics and/ or mathematics which have considered major influential factors for cultivation. This study aims at reviewing the most appropriate sub sections: arable land selection, cultivating methodologies and climatic factors effect on cultivation to build an optimal cultivation plan. Review was conducted using separate articles as searching strategy was failed to identify published articles which studied for these three aspects together. Hence the significance of this study is to discuss how to apply statistical and/ or mathematical models which are used to implement the cultivation plan including all influential factors together
Study of Customer Based Brand Equity in promoting Sri Lanka as a Wedding Tourism Destination - With Special Reference in Southern Region
(International Conference on Applied Social Statistics (ICASS) - 2019, Department of Social Statistics, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2019) Rathnayake, C.
Wedding tourism is a recently emerging tourism market which is still in its development phase when compared with sun-sea-sand and culture or nature tourism segments. After realizing the real potential benefits of this niche market, most of destinations commenced promoting wedding based tourism. Destination marketers used to market and branding destinations as perfect places for destination weddings and honeymoons. As described by Ching, wedding destinations can be defined as the places where newly married couples make visits to feel each other without any disturbance from other common family bonds. It makes them feel very closer to their hearts and gives them lifelong pleasures. Ching further pointed out that the tropical beach is the ideal location sold by the industry for the wedding away because of its own discourse and ideology as an iconic tourist destination. And also, Ching emphasized that the increasing popularity of the destination wedding demonstrates an attempt by couples to negotiate and even change the meaning and purpose of the wedding ritual; and, as a result, the wedding itself is taking on new meaning. In this context, wedding destinations add new meaning to the newly wedded couples beyond conventional framework. According to Abad & Hossein (n.d.) that many researchers have shown interest in brand equity concept and tried to use different approaches to measure it in various industries. This is because of the necessity in today's marketplace to develop, maintain and use product branding to acquire a certain level of competitive advantage. Strong brand offers advantages such as competitiveness position in the markets, more brand loyalty and better reaction toward increase in price by customers. A brand could be defined as a "name, sign, symbol or design, or combination of these, intended to determine the goods of an organization and distinguish them from those of competitors" (AMA, 2013). Hotel guests rely on brand names to reduce the risk associated with staying at an otherwise unknown property (O’Neill & Xiao, 2006). Thus, a brand is something for consumers to feel good about (Vaid, 2003), and successful brand organizations promote themselves as such. This has been further clarified by Clifton, Simonn & Ahmad (2003) and according to them brands offer potential guests the perception of reliable quality service and memorable experience.