Sri Lanka as a Potential Tourism Destination

Running head: MARKETING
Marketing
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1MARKETING
Research topic:
Sri Lanka as a potential tourism destination
Introduction (100)
The term tourism can be defined as the act or process of traveling for pleasure or business. With
the advancement in technology as well as increment in global disposable income, the global
tourism industry is flourishing at a commendable rate. When it comes to Sri Lanka, its tourism is
characterized by magnificent architecture, stunning beaches, Buddhist temples as well as
destinations like Galle, Kandy, Colombo and Yala National park. Wildlife Sanctuaries with
leopard and elephant populations are also some of the most popular places to visit in Sri Lank.
Thus it can be clearly understood that the nation possess the potential to become one of the most
popular tourism places across the word.
Aims and Objectives
The chief aim of the research will be evaluate the potential of Sri Lanka to be one of the most
popular tourist destinations across the world
The objectives of the research are as follows:
1. To explore the potential tourism attractions in Sri Lanka
2. To evaluate the current supply chain availability in the Sri Lankan hospitality industry
and conduct current market analysis of the Sri Lankan Tourism industry
3. To identify the challenges that are hindering the flourish of the tourism industry in Sri
Lanka

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4. To recommend necessary actions and strategies to pursue the sustainable growth of
tourism industry in Sri Lanka
Review of Key Literature
According to Suresh and Senthilnathan (2014), tourism is one of the emerging industries of Sri
Lanka in the post war development. The contribution of tourism to the economy of the nation is
vital. However due to lack of effective economic policies, continuous political violence and a
good number of wars, the tourism industry of the nation is suffering issues to get flourished.
Between the year 1983 and 2009, the mentioned tourism sector got seriously affected by nearly
the decades of the separatist war (Perera and Vlosky 2013). However the revival of the Sri
Lankan tourism industry was rapid post war and thus has become one of the chief factors behind
its post war growth. Buultjens, Ratnayake and Gnanapala (2016) stated that despite the adverse
impact of the war on the nation’s economy, the tourism industry continued to demonstrate a
higher level of resilience. Tourism has always been a focal point of economic growth for the
government f the nation. However, the country evidenced drop in tourism industries till 2009 due
to the civil l war. As per data, the tourist arrival numbered 448,000 in the year 2009 while in
2015, due to different policies and initiatives taken by the government, the number of tourist
increased to ,798,380, showing over 300 percent growth in six years (Jayawardena 2013). While
majority of the initiatives taken by the government has lead to the enhancement in the
competitive advantage of the Sri Lankan Industry, some of the initiatives taken by the
government that includes discriminatory polices like imposition of Sinhala as the official
language an introducing quotes for Tamil students may get counterproductive for the industry as
well as for the country in both medium and long term (Lokuhetty, Jayawardena and Mudadeniya
2013).