Tourism in Sri Lanka

phaetonry in Sri Lanka1. Sri Lanka is an is argonna state of matter and god has given to Sri Lanka blessings of reputation blue seas, green hills, sandy beaches, abundant wildlife, cascading waterf all(prenominal)s, a riot of flowers and fruits, coco palm groves, tea estates, spice gardens. Here unrivalleds day can be gloriously lazy by a palm cool lagoon or full of joy, swimming, snorkeling, and fishing or sailing like a superb jewel in the sparkling waters of the Indian Ocean. Sri Lanka is located in a strategically considered naval spot on the orb map. This fundamental situation creates a path for a major sea route. In sum it creates a strategic naval link between air jacket Asia, Africa and atomic number 99 Asia. Sri Lanka entered the external touristry arna in the 1960s. Since then, government interest group has been the key gene in touristry evolution in Sri Lanka. The Ceylon tourer Board (CTB) was established in 1966 in order to provide guidance and leaders hip to this promising sector of the checking preservation. The country is notable for goodish and cultural heritage. Hospitality, tropical forests, inseparable and fascinating beaches, archeological sites and the tropical mode are the more(prenominal)(prenominal) attractive features. These factors m new(prenominal) Sri Lanka a wonderful tourist destination. Over the years touristry in Sri Lanka has develop significantly. Today tourism has become the sestetth irrelevant Exchange Earner (FEE) in Sri Lankan economic system.2. tourism can pose a immense impact on crop of the Sri Lankan economy. Tourism is a fast growing industry which has been identified presently. profession opportunities and regional exploitation are playing significant role with get a line to the tourism industry development. It can be considered as the al or so outcomeant industry in the country as a whole. The governments spate is to make the tourism sector as Sri Lankas most innovative and paid income generating source.3. During quondam(prenominal) three decades Sri Lankas tourism industry had few draw backs. This was in general imputable to the security situation which prevailed in the country. Further the tourism industry was similarly moved(p) due to the Tsunami catastrophe which occurred in 2004. Approximately 2/ tertiary of the coastal area including tourist infrastructure facilities was destroyed. The immediate post fightfare accomplishment gave rise to a dramatic profit of tourist reaching from end May 2009.4. In order to keep the efforts and to develop the tourism sector in Sri Lanka there should be hotels with exclusive facilities which are in par with the worldwide standards to defend a large number of ascertainors. In the year 2010 approximately one one thousand thousand tourists visited Sri Lanka. Unlike in the past, the inflow of tourists is increasing day by day as a dissolvent of the end of the 30 year elegant contend which destroys t he whole country. interest graph indicates how tourism improverd from 1966 to 2011 in Sri Lanka. The government is expected to cop 2.5 million tourists in 2016. To cater for this increase tourist hotels in Sri Lanka essentialiness be developed. Similarly other facilities should too be increased to fitting the desired frugal goals.AIM5. The aim of this paper is to analyze the development of Sri Lanka tourism -challenges and opportunitiesGEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE OF SRI LANKA6. Sir Lanka has a versatile terrain nevertheless it mainly consists of flat lands but south portion of the countrys step sided river, canyons interior features and mountain. The pet regions are the areas where most of Sri Lankas agriculture takes place, aside from coconut farms along the coast. Sri Lankas temper is tropical and the southwestern part of the island is the wettest. . The northeastern part of Sri Lanka is drier and most of its rain falls from December to February. Most of the rain in the so uthwest falls from April to June and October to November Sri Lankas average yearly temperature is around 86F to 91F. An important geographic note about Sri Lanka is its position in the Indian Ocean, which made it vulnerable to one of the worlds largest natural disasters. On December, 26, 2004, it was struck by large tsunami that hit 12 Asian countries. Around 38,000 commonwealth in Sri Lanka were killed during this incident and much of Sri Lankas coast was destroyed.7. Sri Lanka is situated in strategic stance near major Indian Ocean sea lanes. It has a fare area of 65,610 km, with 64,740 km of land and 870 km of water. Its coastline is 1,340 km long. Sri Lankas temper includes tropical monsoons the southwest monsoon (June to October) and the northeast monsoon (December to March), its terrain is mostly low, flat to undulating plain, with mountains in the south-central interior. The highest point is Pidurutalagala at 2,524.13 m. Resource include limestone, mineral sands, gems, gr aphite, phosphates, clay, and hydropower.8. Adams Bridge, a land connection to the Indian mainland, is now mostly underwater with only a chain of limestone shoals remaining above sea level. According to temple takes, this natural causeway was frontly complete, but was breached by a violent ram (probably a cyclone) in 1480.SRI LANKAS COMMITMENT TO touristry9. Tourism is a live area in the policy structure has been identified as fit of efficiently driving the countrys socio sparing development. The classs vision for the tourism sector is to make Sri Lanka foremost freedom destination in the South Asian Region. The classme believes the human beings resources and natural and cultural endowments value and nation go out be essential in trans defecateing Sri Lanka into a centre of excellence and offer tourists the highest values of real experiences in its unique setting.10 The One Stop social unit Unit for National Investment in Tourism is a centralise forwarding and facili tation center Established Thurs uphold potential tourism investors implicated in investing in Sri Lanka Tourism Industry. Specialist staff from various government agencies suffices investors Identify possible projects, concur information possible, Regarding Investments, submit applications, and put forward support in obtaining investment promotion privileges, trade licenses and other approvals request for project clearance. OSU Prevents the need for investors Thurs spend term in search of answers and ensures all queries are handled by its specialist staff.11. severe well-mannered disturbances starting in July 1983 and the subsequent violence badly affect tourism. contribute arrivals were 230,106 in 1986, bundle 43 percent from 1982. To ease the plight of the industry, the government provided various concessions to hotels, such as the rescheduling of loans and the reduction of the turnover value from 10 percent to 5 percent. The Ceylon Tourist Board to a fault undertook a scatter promotion program in an attempt to restore the islands ambit in world tourist markets. Tourist arrivals in the first six months of 1987, however, showed a decline of 23 percent compared with the same period the previous year. In early 1988, the sentinel was for further contraction.12. In 1988 it remained unclear whether the policies of economic liberalization Sri Lanka has pursued since 1977 would imitate in their principal goals of employment, wealth creation, and economic divers(prenominal)ification. Although increased rice production, the yield of textile manufacturing, and an improved infrastructure were successes that could be attributed to the post-1977 policies, these gains came at the cost of a mounting overseas and domestic debt and declining alive standards for the poor.POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT TOWARDS tourism13. The One Stop Unit Unit for National Investment in Tourism is a Centralized promotion and facilitation center Established Thurs assist potential to urism investors interested in investing in Sri Lanka Tourism Industry. Specialist staff from various government agencies helps investors Identify possible projects, Obtain information possible, Regarding Investments, submit applications, and Provide support in obtaining investment promotion privileges, trade licenses and other approvals Requested for project clearance. OSU Prevents the need for investors Thurs spend time in search of answers and ensures all queries are handled by its specialist staff.14. Serious polished disturbances starting in July 1983 and the subsequent violence badly affected tourism. Total arrivals were 230,106 in 1986, pass 43 percent from 1982. To ease the dilemma of the industry, the government provided various concessions to hotels, such as the rescheduling of loans and the reduction of the turnover tax from 10 percent to 5 percent. The Ceylon Tourist Board in addition undertook a crash promotion program in an attempt to restore the islands image in wor ld tourist markets. Tourist arrivals in the first six months of 1987, however, showed a decline of 23 percent compared with the same period the previous year. In early 1988, the outlook was for further contraction.15. In 1988 it remained unclear whether the policies of economic liberalization Sri Lanka has pursued since 1977 would succeed in their principal goals of employment, wealth creation, and economic diversification. Although increased rice production, the gain of textile manufacturing, and an improved infrastructure were successes that could be attributed to the post-1977 policies, these gains came at the cost of a mounting contrasted and domestic debt and declining living standards for the poor.PROMOTION OF TOURISM INVESTMENT16. The Board of Investment has introduced incentives in the form of tax exemptions, duty-free imports and the relaxation of controls on foreign exchange holdings. The incentives provided by the government thrust mainly attracted investment in the h otel sector. The present hotel substance is 13,670 rooms. That figure is projected to increase to 21,000 rooms by 2004, which get out accommodate the target of 1 million tourists. Five regional domestic airports to be restructured at a total cost of approx. Rs. 2bn Rathmalana, Koggala ,Ampara , Trincomalee Jaffna (Rathmalana will be developed as a City Airport) Previous year. This denotes that tourism industry is one of the core sources of foreign exchange earner in economy of Sri Lanka. callable to the development of tourism improved accessibility via novel highways and conversion of array to domestic airports may make high-end hotels in the Deep South and the East of Sri Lanka viable alternatives to the Galle area.OPPORTUNITIES FOR TOURISM INDUSTRY17. Tourism directly affected to economy of a country. The momentum of growth in tourism, as result of the post conflict peaceful environment, the tourist arrivals grew to 654,476 in 2010 surpassing the previous record of 566,202 i n 2004. Tourist nights one of an important indicator in amount the volume of tourist traffic, has recorded 6, 544, 760 in 2010. It shows 60.6 per cent increase compared to 2009. Total receipts in 2010 amounted to US $ 575.9 million as against US $ 349.3 million recorded for the year 2009. It indicates a vast increase of 64.9 per cent thanTHREATS FOR TOURISM INDUSTRY18. reading of tourist hotels in Sri Lanka will highly support the rapid economic development. Developments of tourist hotels, increase room capacities, increase military control rates and develop the condition of rooms and upgrade the redevelopment provided in the hotels are the key factors to be mainly focused on if to develop tourism. It indeed contributes to the development of tourism and in turn development of economy of the country. Tourist hotel industry should be developed in most of the famous city for tourism with sufficient amount of tourist hotels19. As semipolitical endangerment introduces additional el ements of uncertainty into the rules governing tourism investment projects, the risk of capital loss is raised for longer- term projects. Political risk also negatively influences the timing and pricing of the tourism production process. veto images, want of foreign exchange for tourism development, lack of proficient manpower, light institutional frameworks for tourism planning, political instability caused by communal violence, civil war conflicts are inhibitors to tourism development. However, little is known about how international tourism firms perceive political risks and other general barriers and threats to tourism promotion in Sri Lanka.20. Common political factors which affect the tourism industry are revolution, civil war, factional conflict, ethnic violence, apparitional turmoil, widespread riots, terrorism, nationwide strikes, protests, cross- national guerrilla warfare, world public opinion, repatriation restrictions, bureaucratic politics, leadership struggle, hi gh inflation, border conflicts, high extraneous debt service ratio and creeping nationalization. Last thirty years Sri Lanka also faced the civil war and it affected the tourism industry of Sri Lanka. Organizing elections much also create threat to the tourism industry because during the election period in some places to control the situation cur hews are implemented.21. This will create negative image in the mind of tourists. Some of the foreign countries have reject Sri Lankas products in their country due to the violation of human rights during the war time. For example government invested and spent on IIFA programme but it was not a successful event for Sri Lanka because the big stars have boycotted the event. They didnt visit Sri Lanka because of the protests held in their country by asking them not to visit the place. currently Sri Lanka is having negative relationship with some foreign countries thusly the merchandise and import of Sri Lankan products will be decreased and it affects the tourism industry as well. rising TRENDS, CHALLENGES22. Source markets in Asia and Middle East to drive demand Sri Lankas law of proximity to source markets such as India and its connectivity to the Middle East and mainland China will help in sustaining tourism growth. The rise in per capita income and therefore consumer disbursal in these source markets will aid the growth in tourism.23. root word growth to fuel tourism growth To ensure rapid growth of tourism in the future, tourism projects will need to be repose with infrastructure development. We expect that with improvements in road infrastructure and development of the new airport in Hambantota, various new destinations will emerge in the country, especially to the north and the east, as these areas have abundant natural ravisher to attract tourists but currently suffer from poor connectivity. We expect more airlines to operate in the country as the second airport develops.24. greater competition will alle viate growth We also expect greater competition with the introduction of new hotels in popular destinations such as Colombo, Kandy, Bentota, and Sigiriya, and Galle. We expect the existing hotels to undertake phased renovations to effectively compete with the approaching hotels. Also, with the increase in income from hotels over the past few years, we expect an increase in the number of hospitality related transactions and mergers and acquisitions.25. Challenge of attrition to other destinations Currently, the hotel industry witnesss significant employee attrition to countries in the Middle East and to the Maldives and India. However, with a more stable political environment and improvement in superior of living in Sri Lanka, we expect the attrition to gradually26. Shortage of deft labor As new players enter the market, the projected growth in tourism will be accompanied by shortage of skilled labour. We anticipate the need for relive hospitality education institutions as the reg ion of the tourism sector to the overall economy increases.SUMMARY27. Sri Lanka is located in a strategically considered naval spot on the world map. Sri Lanka entered the international tourism arena in the 1960s. Since then, government involvement has been the key factor in tourism development in Sri Lanka. Over the years tourism in Sri Lanka has developed significantly. Today tourism has become the sixth Foreign Exchange Earner (FEE) in Sri Lankan economy.Tourism can make a great impact on development of the Sri Lankan economy. Employment opportunities and regional development are playing significant role with regard to the tourism industry development. The governments vision is to make the tourism sector as Sri Lankas most innovative and profitable income generating source.28. During past three decades Sri Lankas tourism industry had few draw backs. In the year 2010 approximately one million tourists visited Sri Lanka. Following graph indicates how tourism increased from 1966 to 2011 in Sri Lanka. To cater for this increase tourist hotels in Sri Lanka must be developed. Sri Lankas climate is tropical and the southwestern part of the island is the wettest. . Around 38,000 great deal in Sri Lanka were killed during this incident and much of Sri Lankas coast was destroyed.29. Total arrivals were 230,106 in 1986, down 43 percent from 1982. The Ceylon Tourist Board also undertook a crash promotion program in an attempt to restore the islands image in world tourist markets. This denotes that tourism industry is one of the core sources of foreign exchange earner in economy of Sri Lanka. Tourism directly affected to economy of a country. Development of tourist hotels in Sri Lanka will extremely support the rapid economic development. Developments of tourist hotels, increase room capacities, increase occupancy rates and develop the condition of rooms and upgrade the service provided in the hotels are the key factors to be mainly focused on if to develop tourism. To urist hotel industry should be developed in most of the famous city for tourism with sufficient amount of tourist hotels30. Negative images, lack of foreign exchange for tourism development, lack of skilled manpower, weak institutional frameworks for tourism planning, political instability caused by communal violence, civil war conflicts are inhibitors to tourism development. However, little is known about how international tourism firms perceive political risks and other general barriers and threats to tourism promotion in Sri Lanka.31. Last thirty years Sri Lanka also faced the civil war and it affected the tourism industry of country. Some of the foreign countries have reject Sri Lankas products in their country due to the violation of human rights during the war time. Currently Sri Lanka is having negative relationship with some foreign countries therefore the export and import of Sri Lankan products will be decreased and it affects the tourism industry as well.32. Sri Lankas pr oximity to source markets such as India and its connectivity to the Middle East and China will help in sustaining tourism growth. To ensure rapid growth of tourism in the future, tourism projects will need to be equipoise with infrastructure development. We expect the existing hotels to undertake phased renovations to effectively compete with the upcoming hotels. We also expect the hotel companies, especially the domestic companies located in the country to undertake long and medium term hospitality training programs and regularly undertake competition benchmarking for compensation to retain the talent.RECCOMONDATIONS33. These are the recommendations which we can produce in related to tourism.Develop a marketing strategy show the creation and sustaining of a positive image of Sri Lanka as a solid and well-established tourist destination offering facilities experiences that are distinct Sri Lankan products.Establish a domestic tourism strategy To expand the existing product home base and encourage a greater level of holiday movements in addition to pilgrim movements.Develop goods and services To meet the increasing needs of the tourism industry, and then optimize the economic benefit of tourism development to Sri Lanka.Modify the placement of tourism activities In order to bring about related improvements in the private sector, increase coordination between tourism and interrelated sectors, and introduce streamlining to facilitate the development of the tourism sector.Emphasize the environmental, social and cultural aspects Tourism Development Planning is the only way to solve many issues related to tourism in development. Therefore the tourism planning process should be designed to produce goals and objectives for the destination area related to tourism development. The tourism development plan provides overall guidelines for development and identifies development opportunities. Many development countries are involved in tourism planning.Financial Assis tance Financial economic aid for hotel owners and any other profession in tourist sector would help to create more employment opportunities.Domestic Airport Airport also more than 100 km away from the tourist destination it is call for have domestic airports.Surfing Training This will create more employment opportunities and generate good income. Among the tourists there are some people they love for surfing and keen to learn.Conduct style Teaching Language barrier should be overcome by conducting specially job orient language training.Employ Combat Divers Surfing is risky and encounter sport it dont take much time for some to happen therefore as precautionary measure it is needed some combat divers close to the surfing area it would enhance the confidence of people who do surfing.Proper Taxi Service Taxi service should be improve introducing good vehicles fixed with meter system and giving training for drivers. alter Infrastructure Facilities Infrastructure facilities such as Power, Highways, Railways, Airports, Ports, Water Supply, Telecommunications, Accommodations, and Recreational, Shopping and Banking to be improved.Awareness Programs Tourists should be informed on specific social, cultural and religious environment programmed.GAD ALWIS SLEMajSTUDENT OFFICER -DSCSC