Abstract:
Sri Lanka is one of attractive destination among tourists .Handicraft tourism is a
growing niche industry in Sri Lanka. However, the handicraft tourism industry in Sri
Lanka collapsed rapidly due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The main
objective of this study was to identify the issues and challenges faced by the handicraft
industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. A qualitative study was carried out/was
conducted as a case study covering the Southern Coastal Area in Sri Lanka. The
researcher collected data through face-to-face semi-structured interviews and telephone
interviews and used the convenience sampling technique. Ten interviews were
conducted with handicraftsmen and officers of the National Crafts Council as the
sample. Data were analyzed through the content analyzing technique. The results
revealed that the financial issues, lack of knowledge of handicraftsmen, leaving off the
skillful employees, difficulties of getting raw materials, high dependence on tourism,
lack of proper integration with the tourism value chain, law demand, low price in the
local market, importing handicrafts from foreign countries, difficulty to find customers
and handicraftsmen shifting to other industries as the main issues and challenges faced
by handicraft industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, the researcher
identified the strategies to develop the handicraft tourism industry like facilitating raw
materials, giving financial support, giving knowledge of handicraft to next-generation,
properly integrating with the tourism industry, opening new showrooms, organizing
projects, and using E-marketing. It would be worthwhile for the relevant authorities to
implement strategies to minimize the impact and provide maximum support to develop
the handicraft tourism industry in Sri Lanka.
