Potentiality of Developing Mountain Tourism in Sri Lanka: Case of Central Province Sri Lanka
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Abstract
There is a rising trend in increasing the number of arrivals to mountain tourism. The key reason behind such is the growing demand to engage with nature and culture to avoid stress and to increase physical and mental wellness. Most of the South Asian countries have become potential destinations for mountain tourism and these destinations are using this rising influx to develop economic conditions. Sri Lanka tourism is recovering after three main crises and now focusing to develop with wider tourism product portfolio. Adding to this, Sri Lanka exists with a wide range of biodiversity and geographical uniqueness. The key aim of this research is to identify the financial and non-financial potentialities of developing mountain tourism as a tourism product to increase the revenue of tourism. The methodology of this study is a qualitative approach and data were gathered using in-depth interviews with stakeholders of the tourism industry. A total of 28 interviews were carried out. During the analysis, the applicability of diversity, ease of access, aesthetics, and how to add recreation and development activities were analysed in relation to the data set. Additionally, more, it was further evaluated with the behavioural expectation of hikers, backpackers, mountain climbers, and general visitors. A conceptual framework was developed and proposed as the implementation framework to gain financial and non-financial benefits from mountain tourism in Sri Lanka. Adding more, the proposed framework assists in identifying suitable mountains to implement mountain tourism and planning as well.
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