What have they heard? Pre-visit Image of Sri Lanka as a Tourist Destination.
Siriwardana, Sajith
What have they heard? Pre-visit Image of Sri Lanka as a Tourist Destination. - 181 - 205 p.
Nearly a decade has passed since the end of the civil-conflict which prevailed for 30-long years in Sri Lanka. Despite the evocative dark patches, tourism industry made a significant contribution to rebuild this nation during this period. However, efforts to answer even the most basic questions including, "How do tourists view Sri Lanka as a tourist destination?", have been noticeably inadequate. This paper thus, aims to explore the pre-visit destination image held by tourists regarding Sri Lanka and the role played by information sources in forming such a pre-visit image. Having conducted 25 semi-structured interviews with overseas tourists, who have not gained any travel exposure in Sri Lanka, the findings, derived from a thematic analysis, suggested that the respondents have a favourable pre-visit image, overall, towards the country. While word-of-mouth has been influential in forming such a favourable image, the government-maintained information sources were viewed in a supportive capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Tourism Tourist attractions Semi-structured interviews Post-Conflict Recovery
What have they heard? Pre-visit Image of Sri Lanka as a Tourist Destination. - 181 - 205 p.
Nearly a decade has passed since the end of the civil-conflict which prevailed for 30-long years in Sri Lanka. Despite the evocative dark patches, tourism industry made a significant contribution to rebuild this nation during this period. However, efforts to answer even the most basic questions including, "How do tourists view Sri Lanka as a tourist destination?", have been noticeably inadequate. This paper thus, aims to explore the pre-visit destination image held by tourists regarding Sri Lanka and the role played by information sources in forming such a pre-visit image. Having conducted 25 semi-structured interviews with overseas tourists, who have not gained any travel exposure in Sri Lanka, the findings, derived from a thematic analysis, suggested that the respondents have a favourable pre-visit image, overall, towards the country. While word-of-mouth has been influential in forming such a favourable image, the government-maintained information sources were viewed in a supportive capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Tourism Tourist attractions Semi-structured interviews Post-Conflict Recovery