Impact of Socio-Cultural and Environmental Factors on Hospitality Industry in Sri Lanka

This report discusses the impact of socio-cultural and environmental factors on the hospitality industry in Sri Lanka. The socio-cultural factor is related to the cultural pattern of the country and the environmental factor is related to the waste disposal system. The recommendations are also discussed to overcome these challenges.

Running head: Hospitality
Hospitality

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Abstract
The hospitality industry offers the services to the customers like hotel facility and also
restaurants facility. Hospitality is the word which is derived from hospice which means a house
of rest for travelers. In this report, the country which is selected is Sri- Lanka. Two factors will
be discussed in this paper which is impacting on the hospitality industry of Sri Lanka. The first
phase of the paper will discuss the socio-cultural factor in which the cultural pattern of the
country will be discussed. The next phase will discuss the environmental factor which is related
to the waste disposal system of the country. The recommendations are also discussed so that
growth can be achieved by the hospitality industry. The recommendations are
In the socio cultural factor the country should consider the strategy related to enhancing
the quality of education, campaigns should not be created to enhance the awareness about
prostitution, to reduce prostitution surveillance system should be considered and value should be
given to the people.
In environmental factor the country should consider the strategy related to Proper
consumption of the resources, impose strict rules and regulations and to consider the latest
technologies.

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Table of Contents
Abstract............................................................................................................................................1
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Socio-cultural factor........................................................................................................................3
Recommendations............................................................................................................................4
Environmental factor.......................................................................................................................5
Recommendations............................................................................................................................6
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................7
References........................................................................................................................................8

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Introduction
The hospitality industry is the industry in which the services related to food and
accommodations are provided to the customers. Accommodations are provided to the customers
in hotels and resorts. There are many factors which impact the hospitality industry. In this paper,
the focus will be given to the technological factor and environmental factors. Also, the
discussion will be made that how they impact on the hospitality industry. In the last phase
recommendations will be discussed. It is important to consider effective strategies so that the
services that are offered to the customers can be conducted smoothly.
Socio-cultural factor
Socio-cultural factors are considered as a major part of the hospitality industry. This
factor affects the hotel industry by focusing on the values of the society. Sri- Lanka is one of the
multi-ethnic countries with more than 22 million populations. The culture of the country is a rich
blend of the various cultural patterns in which Buddhism are 69 % and Hinduism are 8 %
(Razick, Long, Ismail & Salleh, 2016).In the recent scenario, the cultural pattern of the country is
affecting the diverse range of cultures. The culture of Sri- Lanka is affected by the Buddhism
because it has been long influenced by the heritage of Theravada Buddhism.
It has been seen that Socio culture is giving negative impact on the hospitality industry in
many ways. The impact is mainly seen in the youth of the country and the growth is affected by
the activities that are done in the country. There are many activities that are conducted in Sri –
Lanka like drug addiction and also there are many anti-social acts that are seen in the country.
The impacts of the activities are seen on the values of the individuals living in the country. There
are many tourists are also engaged in the activities like prostitution and also Cabare dancing.
Also, the employees of the hospitality industries indulge in the activities, so the direct impact is
on the efficiency of the work. The employees are not giving their best towards the assigned task.
By considering these activities the negative impact is seen in the hospitality industry. The values
of the country are not considered and it is spoiling the image of the hotels situated in Sri- Lanka.

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The people who are living in Sri- Lanka are enhancing the discrimination between different
castes.
There are many tourists who are engaged so much in drugs that they spoil the
environment and create a problem for others to stay and visit the country (Dissanayake &
Areesantichai, 2017). Before visiting the country tourists think twice as it creates a major
problem for the people to live in this type of surroundings and also the values of the country is
affected. For example: Recently the violence takes place in which the Muslims are targeted and
also there was discrimination against the people of every caste. So, it has given negative impact
on the hospitality industry that people have to think twice before visiting and it has impacted the
profitability of the hospitality industry.
Recommendations
By analyzing the socio-cultural environment it is important to minimize the challenges
prevailing in the market so that activities and profitability can be achieved effectively. To
minimize the prostitution it is important for the country to consider the basic laws related to
prostitution like Immoral trafficking prevention activities that help to minimize the sexual and
prostitution in the country. It is important to enhance the quality of education so that it will
enable the individuals and consider the moral principles to choose a proper life. Counseling
should also be given to the people and also jobs should be provided to the people so that they can
survive in the environment.
Campaigns should not be created to enhance the awareness about prostitution so that
good attitudes among the parents and general people can be fostered. The best way to reduce
prostitution is by surveillance system so that restriction can be made in entering to the business
related to prostitution (Braithwaite & D'Costa, 2016). It is important to take into consideration
this law as it helps the hospitality industry to enhance the profits and demand.
Next strategy that should be considered is to give value to the people and maintain their
culture so that they can be happy. The basic rules and regulations should be imposed by the
government so that the activities can be conducted smoothly and tourist will also feel good and
visit the country where there is unity among the people. It is seen unity plays a great role to
create a good environment. People are discriminating between different religions so it is

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important to maintain peace and harmony (Ryan, 2015). For instance: recently Violence takes
place in which the main target was Muslims. So to reduce this type of conflict and discrimination
it is important to set rules and regulations properly.
These strategies can reduce the challenges prevailing in the country. Also, it can be
beneficial for the hospitality industry to attract more and more tourist towards the country. If
more tourists are attracted then it can help to enhance the overall profitability in a proper manner.
For a hospitality industry, it is important to attract the customers so that goodwill can be
maintained. It can only be done by giving value to the people who are living in the society and
also by minimizing the challenges that are impacting the hospitality industry. The hospitality
industry should focus on giving training to its employees so that they can conduct the activities
with efficiency and it can also help the customers to enhance the satisfaction level in an effective
manner.
Environmental factor
Environmental factor that is impacting on the hospitality industry in Sri Lanka is waste
disposal system. For instance: Waste disposal system is not effective and the waste is disposed
in the sea. The negative impact on the hospitality industry as the drainage waste creates a dirty
environment. Just because of not having the proper drainage disposal system the overall demand
is affected (Gunarathne & Lee, 2015).If a clean environment is not there then it can create a bad
image in the mind of tourists. It affects the number of visitors who are availing the services of
the tourist industry. Just because of not having good drainage disposal system it is seen that there
are many environmental issues that take place. It is seen due to the hot weather in Sri Lanka the
consumption of water is more and due to the wastage of the resources, it is not possible to offer
proper services to the customers. It will impact the growth of the hospitality industry (Central
environmental authority, 2013). It is important to give proper services to the customers so that
demand can be enhanced in a proper manner. Many people face the problem of breathing and
also suffer from many diseases (Fraj, Matute & Melero, 2015).

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Also, there is no proper planning of the resources. The hotel industry is also affected by
the environmental pollution. In Sri Lanka, the demand of the hospitality industry slows down just
because of the increase in the pollution level. It is seen that tourist are less interested to visit the
country just because of the high level of pollution (Central environmental authority, 2013).
Also, land degradation is also giving impact on the growth of the hospitality industry. It is seen
that in Sri Lanka there is fertile soil and also wildlife is considered as an important part of Sri
Lanka. Due to the enhancement in the construction of the tourism facilities, it is seen that there is
pressure on the resources (Buultjens, Ratnayake & Gnanapala, 2016).

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For example, the animals are not able to survive for the long term because of the lack of
resources so it is giving negative impact on the hospitality industry by reducing the places to visit
for the visitors. The place for the visitors are reducing that also impacts the demand for the
hospitality industry. Tourist places in Sri Lanka are reducing just because of the wastage of the
resources that take place in the organization.
Recommendations
By analyzing the environmental factor it has been seen that the major impact on the
hospitality industry is due to ineffective drainage disposal system. It is important to have proper
waste disposal system so that the environment can be kept clean for the visitors. If the
environment is not clean then it is difficult for the hospitality industry to enhance the demand in
the market (Sinnathamby, Paul, Dasanayaka, Gunawardena & Fernando, 2016). It is important to
keep the environment clean so that people can feel good to visit the country. If they visit then it
can be easy for the hospitality industry to enhance the overall demand in a proper manner. There

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are various strategies that can be used to safeguard the environment. Also, prevention should be
taken so that growth can be achieved by the hospitality industry (Udunuwara & Sanders, 2016).
The strategies which are related to safeguarding the environment are: Proper consumption of the
resources. It is important to consume the resources in a proper manner so that growth can be
achieved in a proper manner. If the resources are available then it can also help the hospitality to
enhance the demand of the customers.
To maintain proper waste disposal system it is important to impose strict rules and
regulations so that activities can be conducted smoothly. The sewage should not be entered into
the rivers as it affects the environment and also creates a negative impact on the tourists. So
proper rules and regulations should be considered so that activities of the hospitality industry can
be conducted smoothly and also it will help to enhance the overall profits of the company
(Wijesekara et al., 2014). It is also important to consider the latest technologies by the hospitality
industry so that sewage can be dumped easily without giving negative impact on the demand of
the hospitality industry. The challenge of land degradation can be resolved by focusing on the
latest technology so that resources can be utilized in a proper manner (Molina-Azorín, Tarí,
Pereira-Moliner, López-Gamero & Pertusa-Ortega, 2015).
Next strategy on which focus should be given is proper maintenance and construction.
Strict environmental sustainable guidelines should be followed so that hospitality industry can
achieve its growth by proper utilization of the resources (Maheshi, 2015). If there are proper
rules and regulations imposed on the construction then it will help to reduce the pollution that
affects the demand of the tourists. Pollution is one of the important factors of Sri Lanka that
should be controlled so that the individuals can survive in a proper manner with a happy life
(Kumara et al., 2015).
So, the government should focus on safeguarding the environment by implementing strict
rules and regulations. Also, if these rules and regulations are not considered by the company then
a strict penalty should be imposed. The focus should also be given on designing well planned,
large-scale tourist resorts so that sound sustainable practices can be taken into consideration
(Chan, Hon, Okumus & Chan, 2017). For example : proper sewage disposable facilities with
proper recycling of water and also solar lightning for the resort public areas so that resources can
also be secured and tourist can also be satisfied.

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Conclusion
By evaluating the paper it is concluded that the factors impacting the hospitality industry
of Sri Lanka are Socio cultural factor and environmental factor. It is important to consider proper
strategies so that activities and also growth can be achieved by the companies in this sector. The
best way discussed to reduce the challenge in socio-cultural is taking into consideration rules and
regulations that should be imposed by the government so that growth can be achieved. Also in an
environmental factor, the resources should be utilized properly by proper recycling of water and
by using solar lighting.

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