Domestic Tourism Development in Southeast Dry Zone: Stakeholders' Perspective

Abstract

This paper aims to identify salient features, problems and recommendations for developing domestic tourism in the Southeast dry zone of Sri Lanka from the stakeholders' perspective. The selected area was the Southeast dry zone, the most popular tourist zone among domestic tourists, including Kataragama, Yala, and Udawalawe. The researcher used the qualitative approach, and the data were collected through in-depth interviews as the primary data collection method, using the purposive sampling method, from 20 respondents. The col-lected data were analysed using thematic techniques. The study found the sa-lient features of domestic tourism, such as visiting for religious and leisure purposes, less length of stay, travelling at weekends and holidays using private transportation, seeking familiar low-cost accommodations with minimal ex-penses, and less awareness of travel preparation and concern for a leading destination. Lack of adequate sanitation and infrastructure, unavailability of awareness programs, low-cost quality lodges and restaurants, transportation and accessibility difficulties, the effect of prices, less government support and coordination, behaviour and characteristics of domestic tourists are identified as problems to develop domestic tourism. Enhance government intervention to grow facilities, develop programs to create propaganda methods among do-mestic tourists, and establish recreational activities in addition to the attrac-tions, building relationships among tourism service providers and administra-tive parties, as well as proper training and awareness for service providers, are emphasised as recommendations for developing domestic tourism in this study.