IDENTIFYING THE POTENTIALS, ISSUES, AND CHALLENGES IN DEVELOPING BUDDHIST TOURISM IN SRI LANKA

Abstract

Sri Lanka has a rich history as the world's flag bearer of Theravada Buddhism, dating back millennia. Over the decades, tourism has seen continuous growth and diversification to become one of the fastest-growing economic sectors in the world. Tourism has grown and diversified steadily over the decades to become one of the world's fastest-growing economic sectors. Since the end of the ethnic war in 2009, Sri Lanka has attracted one million tourists. However, little attention is paid to religious and cultural tourism in Sri Lanka. Therefore, the main problem for this study arises from this scenario. The study was undertaken by objecting to identify potentials in developing Buddhist tourism, to identify issues and challenges in developing Buddhist Tourism in Sri Lanka. Primary Data were collected from tourism and cultural administrative bodies, tourism service providers, and monastery Bhikkus in Sri Lanka who are mature in the industry and especially engage with Buddhist tourism. The sample includes two officers from Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Beuro, four officers from Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, one officer from Central Cultural Fund, the director of north-central provincial office, the president of Sri Lanka Institute of National Tourist Guide Lecturer, two travel agencies specialize on promoting Buddhist tourism, the president of Anuradhapura hotelier’s association, and two monastery instructors. Data were collected by holding semi-structured in-depth interviews. Convenience sampling was chosen as the sampling technique. As per the findings, the researcher could identify four potentials: 1) promoting tangible and intangible Buddhist resources, 2) building brand awareness, 3) building Buddhist hotspots, 4) building experience-based activities for Buddhist tourists. The main key issues and challenges derived from analysis are lack of language skillfulness, lack of knowledgeable academic crew, government issues, and lack of awareness and lack of marketing strategies. As per the findings of the study as for these critical issues, the suggestions could be able to propose to get rid of them or minimize them as proper government involvement, needs a comprehensive marketing effort with the help of key institutions to attract the correct clients, offering language training programs and processes that are appropriate for trainers and many more.