Papers by J . A. R . C . Sandaruwani
South Asian Journal of Tourism and Hospitality
Even though, there were many programmes for poverty alleviation in Sri Lanka, rural areas are sti... more Even though, there were many programmes for poverty alleviation in Sri Lanka, rural areas are still undergoing various socio-economic and environmental challenges along with deprivation and marginalization in development process. However, most of these rural areas that suffers from poverty are abundant with natural and socio-cultural resources. Therefore, it is inevitable to investigate the role of prolonged poverty alleviation programmes and social welfare policies on countryside capitalization and community empowerment. Inductive empirical investigations through explorative research design of case studies of selected three villages; Ihalagalagama, Mudaliwatta, and Rideegama enables the study to unveil multiple truths from the socially constructed world. Focus group discussion, in-depth interview of key informants through snowball sampling, direct observations and artefacts in three villages were used in arriving at the conclusions. The findings of the study indicate that, these vi...
Curator: The Museum Journal, 2021
Cultural tourism has emerged as a growing sector of the global tourism industry. Theme‐based muse... more Cultural tourism has emerged as a growing sector of the global tourism industry. Theme‐based museums have evolved as important partners in this burgeoning sector of the national economy. However, the statistics recorded only 29% of foreign tourists visiting museums during their visits to Sri Lanka in 2018–2019. This research identifies the prevailing challenges and issues museums face in developing museum tourism as a part of the national tourism strategy. This study has been narrowed down into the cluster of museums administered by the Department of National Museums of Sri Lanka as it is the major governmental body responsible for maintaining the national museums. The researcher conducted 18 semi‐structured interviews with administrative positions in the Department of National Museums (DNM) and Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) in order to collect qualitative data during the study period of January to July 2019. Findings revealed the key challenges and issues as limit...
Asian Journal of Management Studies, 2022
Although poverty alleviation has become an infinite game globally since the late 1940s, Sri Lanka... more Although poverty alleviation has become an infinite game globally since the late 1940s, Sri Lanka has not identified poverty as an issue until recently. The socio-welfare-based economic policies and continuous election-centered poverty alleviation programs push the country into the IGPA, even though the country is accumulated with plentiful natural and socio-cultural resources. Consequently, Sri Lanka struggles with severe economic crises and political chaos, worsening IGPA, which has not been adequately addressed in prevailing academic literature. This study attempts to fill this void by adopting the social-constructivism approach. Nine semi-structured interviews and three focus group discussions were conducted, plus direct observation of
the rural landscape of Sri Lanka. Findings indicate IGPA has become an influential determining factor in deciding the potential ruling government, and every government
has included IGPA in their political manifesto under different titles. However, the disintegration between rural poverty alleviation and sustainable capitalization led the
nation to be retained with IGPA.
Keywords: Environmental Capital, Infinite Game of Poverty Alleviation, Socio-Cultural Capital
Procedia Food Science, 2016
Tourism has significant potentials for generating positive social, cultural and economic benefits... more Tourism has significant potentials for generating positive social, cultural and economic benefits depending on how tourism activities are managed and developed. However, tourism also has the potential to generate more negative outcomes. Therefore, the objectives of this study are first; to examine the impacts of tourism development on local communities, second; to recognize the attitudes and perception of local communities towards tourism development in their neighbourhoods. The study is based on the data gathered from 108 families in three villages to analysis the attitudes and perceptions of local communities towards tourism development. Additionally, six unstructured interviews were conducted with government officers of these villages to get the precise understanding of the tourism development in local communities and its impacts. The study reveals inadequate government planning, policies and regulations, insufficient knowledge and skills of tour operators, and the broader social...
Tourism has become an important industry in the Sri Lankan economy and placed the fourth largest ... more Tourism has become an important industry in the Sri Lankan economy and placed the fourth largest source of foreign exchange earner of the national economy in 2015. As a developing country, Sri Lanka takes much effort to develop tourism as an economic development strategy and it is targeted to attract 2.5 million of tourists by 2016. In this scenario, the cultural and heritage attractions are considered as an important area for future tourism developments. Sri Lanka is rich with 6 cultural world heritage sites, declared by UNESCO, and other important cultural treasures and attractions. Therefore, the main objective of this paper is to discuss the impacts of tourism development in cultural and heritage sites in Sri Lanka and their implications for heritage management and sustainability of the industry. The study is carried out in the cultural world heritage sites in Sri Lanka and has adopted a range of data collection methods including semi-structured interviews, focused group discuss...
International Journal of Economics and Business Administration,American Institute of Science (AIS), 2016
Tourism has significant potentials for generating positive social, cultural and economic benefits... more Tourism has significant potentials for generating positive social, cultural and economic benefits depending on how tourism activities are managed and developed. However, tourism also has the potential to generate more negative outcomes. Therefore, the objectives of this study are first; to examine the impacts of tourism development on local communities, second; to recognize the attitudes and perception of local communities towards tourism development in their neighbourhoods. The study is based on the data gathered from 108 families in three villages to analysis the attitudes and perceptions of local communities towards tourism development. Additionally, six unstructured interviews were conducted with government officers of these villages to get the precise understanding of the tourism development in local communities and its impacts. The study reveals inadequate government planning, policies and regulations, insufficient knowledge and skills of tour operators, and the broader social issues of poverty and its concomitant implications have become the impediments. Despite numerous economic advantages for the government, private businesses and other external organizations, the local villagers do not sufficiently benefit financially from tourism development. The study area is located in the heart of the cultural triangle; villagers and tourists in this region generally demonstrate high levels of sensitivity to indigenous cultures, thus minimizing the negative socio-cultural impacts.
International Journal of Economics and Business Administration, American Institute of Science (AIS), 2016
Tourism has become an important industry in the Sri Lankan economy and placed the fourth largest ... more Tourism has become an important industry in the Sri Lankan economy and placed the fourth largest source of foreign exchange earner of the national economy in 2015. As a developing country, Sri Lanka takes much effort to develop tourism as an economic development strategy and it is targeted to attract 2.5 million of tourists by 2016. In this scenario, the cultural and heritage attractions are considered as an important area for future tourism developments. Sri Lanka is rich with 6 cultural world heritage sites, declared by UNESCO, and other important cultural treasures and attractions. Therefore, the main objective of this paper is to discuss the impacts of tourism development in cultural and heritage sites in Sri Lanka and their implications for heritage management and sustainability of the industry. The study is carried out in the cultural world heritage sites in Sri Lanka and has adopted a range of data collection methods including semi-structured interviews, focused group discussions, document analysis, and participant observation and also gathered secondary data from online media. The findings revealed that even though tourism has brought many economic and socio-cultural advantages, there are several issues and problems that need to be addressed comprehensively such as over concentration on tourism, the conflicts of interests, unauthorized constructions and modifications, misinterpretations through guiding and poor site management etc. These factors have created dissatisfaction among the tourists and finally the negative publicity about the destination. It has concluded that the relevant and responsible authorities have to take necessary actions to answer the said problems and issues before further degradation of tourism occurs in heritage and cultural sites; otherwise the country has to endure further negative consequences.
Sri Lanka's hotel industry is one of the key drivers of economic growth in the island nation and ... more Sri Lanka's hotel industry is one of the key drivers of economic growth in the island nation and the tourist arrivals have almost doubled since the end of the conflict in 2009. In order to cater to this snowballing tourist traffic, many new tourist hotels are being emerged. The hospitality sector is considered as a high energy consumer which produces a large amount of solid food waste. This has placed a huge strain on resources and created immense challenges in the efficient use of these resources as well as the disposal of their waste. Therefore, the main objective of this paper is to discuss the food wastage in tourist hotels and its impact on sustainable hotel operations. Apart from that, it discusses the issues and challenges associated with the implementation of sustainable food waste management practices in hotels. The study was carried out as a qualitative study using randomly selected 20 star class hotels and the data collected through personal interviews, focused group discussions and personal observations. It was found that while the awareness of the need to minimize food wastage is high among management, and also has taken efforts to reduce the cost through food waste minimization, however, the hoteliers also have faced various challenges mainly due to the perception and behavioural patterns of customers which is beyond their control. Furthermore, the inherent characteristics of the industry have contributed for the high wastage of food. A few hoteliers have been succeeded in getting benefits from the food wastage such as installing bio gas digesters. So, one step that will help is to encourage the hotel industry to embrace and adopt food waste minimizing strategies and methods in order to achieve the environmental sustainability while increasing their financial profits. 1. Introduction Accommodation sector is one of the major players of the tourism industry and it contributes to the national economy in many ways. Also, the future tourism development of a country also depends on sustainable growth of this sector. The majority of the tourists come to Sri Lanka for pleasure, therefore, it is necessary to provide specially the quality food and beverages and comfortable accommodation facilities to match with the requirements of the tourists. Even though the country has long history for its tourism development initiatives, Sri Lanka was able to pass the 1.5 million of tourist target only in 2014 after ending the 30 years long terrorism problem in 2009. Further, the government has targeted to attract 2.5 million of tourists by 2016 and therefore required 45,000 hotel rooms to cater to those tourists 1. The hotel industry is considered as one of the high energy consumers and the waste generators 2. Therefore, fast growth of the hotel industry has an ability to create another problem for the sustainability of the destination. The solid waste generation by a typical hotel and categorized under food and non-recyclables (46.2 %), paper (25.3 %), cardboard (11.7 %), plastic (6.7 %), glass (5.6 %), and metal (4.5 %) 2. Accordingly, the hospitality sector produces a large amount of food waste compared to the other solid waste types. This will place a huge strain on resources and create immense challenges in the efficient use of these foodstuff as well as disposal of their waste. According to Todd & Hawkins 3 food waste bring different problems to the hospitality business and the solid waste management includes various factors such as the disposal and transport of waste, as well as associated labour costs. Therefore, more efficient waste management can bring significant savings for the business depending on where the business is located and the waste management regulations in that area. Other benefits of eco-friendly waste management include an improved business image, reduced carbon emissions from the decreased transportation of waste, reduced costs due to smaller order requirements from suppliers, improved relations with stakeholders, reduced risks and liabilities, and health and safety benefits 4. Therefore, the main objective of this paper is to discuss the food wastage in tourist hotels and its impact on sustainable hotel operations in perspective of hoteliers' attitudes and perception about the food wastes generation. Further, it discusses the issues and challenges associated with the implementation of sustainable food waste management practices at hotels.
Sri Lanka's hotel industry is one of the key drivers of economic growth in the island nation and ... more Sri Lanka's hotel industry is one of the key drivers of economic growth in the island nation and the tourist arrivals have almost doubled since the end of the conflict in 2009. In order to cater to this snowballing tourist traffic, many new tourist hotels are being emerged. The hospitality sector is considered as a high energy consumer which produces a large amount of solid food waste. This has placed a huge strain on resources and created immense challenges in the efficient use of these resources as well as the disposal of their waste. Therefore, the main objective of this paper is to discuss the food wastage in tourist hotels and its impact on sustainable hotel operations. Apart from that, it discusses the issues and challenges associated with the implementation of sustainable food waste management practices in hotels. The study was carried out as a qualitative study using randomly selected 20 star class hotels and the data collected through personal interviews, focused group discussions and personal observations. It was found that while the awareness of the need to minimize food wastage is high among management, and also has taken efforts to reduce the cost through food waste minimization, however, the hoteliers also have faced various challenges mainly due to the perception and behavioural patterns of customers which is beyond their control. Furthermore, the inherent characteristics of the industry have contributed for the high wastage of food. A few hoteliers have been succeeded in getting benefits from the food wastage such as installing bio gas digesters. So, one step that will help is to encourage the hotel industry to embrace and adopt food waste minimizing strategies and methods in order to achieve the environmental sustainability while increasing their financial profits. 1. Introduction Accommodation sector is one of the major players of the tourism industry and it contributes to the national economy in many ways. Also, the future tourism development of a country also depends on sustainable growth of this sector. The majority of the tourists come to Sri Lanka for pleasure, therefore, it is necessary to provide specially the quality food and beverages and comfortable accommodation facilities to match with the requirements of the tourists. Even though the country has long history for its tourism development initiatives, Sri Lanka was able to pass the 1.5 million of tourist target only in 2014 after ending the 30 years long terrorism problem in 2009. Further, the government has targeted to attract 2.5 million of tourists by 2016 and therefore required 45,000 hotel rooms to cater to those tourists 1. The hotel industry is considered as one of the high energy consumers and the waste generators 2. Therefore, fast growth of the hotel industry has an ability to create another problem for the sustainability of the destination. The solid waste generation by a typical hotel and categorized under food and non-recyclables (46.2 %), paper (25.3 %), cardboard (11.7 %), plastic (6.7 %), glass (5.6 %), and metal (4.5 %) 2. Accordingly, the hospitality sector produces a large amount of food waste compared to the other solid waste types. This will place a huge strain on resources and create immense challenges in the efficient use of these foodstuff as well as disposal of their waste. According to Todd & Hawkins 3 food waste bring different problems to the hospitality business and the solid waste management includes various factors such as the disposal and transport of waste, as well as associated labour costs. Therefore, more efficient waste management can bring significant savings for the business depending on where the business is located and the waste management regulations in that area. Other benefits of eco-friendly waste management include an improved business image, reduced carbon emissions from the decreased transportation of waste, reduced costs due to smaller order requirements from suppliers, improved relations with stakeholders, reduced risks and liabilities, and health and safety benefits 4. Therefore, the main objective of this paper is to discuss the food wastage in tourist hotels and its impact on sustainable hotel operations in perspective of hoteliers' attitudes and perception about the food wastes generation. Further, it discusses the issues and challenges associated with the implementation of sustainable food waste management practices at hotels.
Tourism is a multidisciplinary industry and therefore involves many different stakeholders for it... more Tourism is a multidisciplinary industry and therefore involves many different stakeholders for its operational activities. An essential element for sustainable tourism development in any tourist destination is the participation of active stakeholders and their collaborations. Among them the tourist guides play a major role in the tourism industry since tourists need to have a clear picture of the country and its offerings, laws, rules and regulations and other expected behavioural patterns. Moreover, guides should have the ability to transform the tourist visit into an unforgettable experience. In addition to the quality and ability of tourist guides, there are many problems and issues associated with their services that can impact on the ultimate satisfaction of the tourists. Therefore, the primary objective of this research is to recognize the impact of tourist guides in moving tourism development in a sustainable direction. Additionally, the study investigates the problems and difficulties faced by tourist guides while serving in the industry and its effect on tourists' satisfaction. The study was conducted using the mixed methodology and collected data from different sources such as questionnaire survey with tourists, semi-structured interviews and discussions with tourist guides and the different stakeholders and personal observations. Additionally, tourists' comments posted on the TripAdvisor web page were reviewed to acquire a comprehensive understanding about the issue, from the tourists' perspective. It was revealed that tourist guides contend with multiple issues and problems including unfair competition from unlicensed tourist guides, less respect and recognition from the society and trade, low remuneration, lack of job security, poor and unfriendly working conditions while performing their duties and responsibilities. Also, many tourist guides have low education and training and, therefore, exhibit a low service quality. Furthermore, the guides' behaviours may negatively impact on the industry's sustainability by forcing tourists to buy things or attend activities at their own expenses; relying on clichéd introductions to the sights; demonstrating insufficient knowledge about tourism products, services and access routes; not being conversant with foreign languages; charging and demanding tips; harassment of tourists and bad service attitudes.
Books by J . A. R . C . Sandaruwani
Technology Application in Tourism in Asia, 2022
Technology and travel joint force reinvent the travel cycle in the twenty-first century. Modern t... more Technology and travel joint force reinvent the travel cycle in the twenty-first century. Modern travellers demand immediate assistance, seamless experience and personalised content and services than ever before. Internet, Mobile Technology, Cloud Computing, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotics, Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), Internet of Things (IoT), and Big Data give travellers an unbridled sense of freedom, convenience with the instant access to any information. Further, it personalises the vacation and provides instant booking and social sharing on digital spaces. This study focusses on how Sri Lanka, as a tourism destination, adapt the technological trends into its supply system. This study focused on four major operators in the tourism industry; hoteliers, restauranteurs, airlines and tour operators. The data were collected based on semi-structured interviews and observations. The study's results and discussion highlight the prevailing technological kick-ups within leading hoteliers, restaurants, airlines, and tour operators in Sri Lanka. Digital transformation and technology adaption across the accommodation sector identified virtual tours, augmented reality content, mobile check-in, self-check-in kiosks, digital concierge, cloud-based Property Management Systems (PMS), smart rooms. Restaurants in Sri Lanka are investing in digital enhancements that appeals to all of the senses of hyper-connected mentality via robot waiters, online food ordering and delivery apps, digital menus with customising options, self-service mobile apps. Sri Lankan Airline as the only airline operator in the country, is reshaping the flying experience expanding mobile commerce via Sri Lankan Airlines App, e-wallets, security technologies, including robot inspection dog, self-service check-in kiosks, VR entertainment on flights, and in-flight Wi-Fi. Travel agencies adapt technology to streamline their operations, boost operational performances, personalise online tour planning, and multiple digital marketing facets to attract tech-savvy travellers.
Keywords: Digital Tourists, Revolutionized Tourism, Smart Tourism, Sri Lanka
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Papers by J . A. R . C . Sandaruwani
the rural landscape of Sri Lanka. Findings indicate IGPA has become an influential determining factor in deciding the potential ruling government, and every government
has included IGPA in their political manifesto under different titles. However, the disintegration between rural poverty alleviation and sustainable capitalization led the
nation to be retained with IGPA.
Keywords: Environmental Capital, Infinite Game of Poverty Alleviation, Socio-Cultural Capital
Books by J . A. R . C . Sandaruwani
Keywords: Digital Tourists, Revolutionized Tourism, Smart Tourism, Sri Lanka
the rural landscape of Sri Lanka. Findings indicate IGPA has become an influential determining factor in deciding the potential ruling government, and every government
has included IGPA in their political manifesto under different titles. However, the disintegration between rural poverty alleviation and sustainable capitalization led the
nation to be retained with IGPA.
Keywords: Environmental Capital, Infinite Game of Poverty Alleviation, Socio-Cultural Capital
Keywords: Digital Tourists, Revolutionized Tourism, Smart Tourism, Sri Lanka