Page 1 of 6

Journal for Studies in Management and Planning

Available at http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/

e-ISSN: 2395-0463

Volume 02 Issue 4

April 2016

Available online: http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/ P a g e | 78

Study on Incorporating the Expectations of Domestic

Tourists into Sri Lankan Hotels with special reference to

Ceylon Hotels Corporation

JKW Abarajithan, B Sarangan,

1Management Trainee, People’s Bank

2Assistant Relationship Manager, DFCC Bank PLC

(jkwilliam25@gmail.com) (b.sarangan88@gmail.com)

Abstract

After the end of the thirty years long civil

war, business sector is recovering and in

particular tourism is developing at an

accelerated rate. Sri Lanka has been a

popular destination for tourism from the

colonial time and tourism industry creates

huge income to Sri Lanka. Though Sri Lanka

has been successful in attracting foreign

tourists and Sri Lankan hotels have

accommodated the expectations of

international tourists, performance of

domestic tourism sector has been limited in

Sri Lanka. Therefore main purpose of this

study is to investigate why the Sri Lankan

Hotels do not focus on catering to the

expectations of local tourists. Hence findings

of this study would be useful to the Sri

Lankan hotel sector to develop policies to

cater to the requirements of local tourists and

thereby develop the domestic tourism. This

research was limited to the tourists of Group

Hotels of Ceylon Hotels Corporation PLC.

Conceptual framework was developed taking

four factors in to consideration; room rate,

service quality, locations & environment and

staff assistance which directly influence the

expectations of tourists. Quantitative

methodology was adopted and structured

questionnaires were used for data collection.

Questionnaires were distributed to 100

domestic tourists who visited group hotels of

Ceylon Hotels Corporation PLC situated in

the different regions of the country.

Descriptive analysis was used for data

analysis. Results showed that Sri Lankan

tourists are mostly concerned about the

affordability of room rates and quality of

service. Finally it has been recommended to

adopt cost leadership strategy to incorporate

the expectations of local tourists thereby

domestic tourism can be improved.

Key words: Room rate, service quality,

locations & environment and staff

assistance

Introduction

Leisure management and tourism industry is

one of the major components which generate

huge income to Sri Lankan economy for the

last several decades even amidst of all

unfavorable situations such as war and

natural disasters. Thus from the time of

gaining independence from the British in

Page 2 of 6

Journal for Studies in Management and Planning

Available at http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/

e-ISSN: 2395-0463

Volume 02 Issue 4

April 2016

Available online: http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/ P a g e | 79

1947, Sri Lanka continues to attract foreign

tourists thereby Sri Lanka has a growing

Tourism Industry. Several aspects such as

ancient cities & historic places, natural sites,

indigenous medicine and plantation sector etc

play an important role in attracting tourists

towards Sri Lanka. Meanwhile development

of accommodation facilities is a primary

requirement for the promotion of tourism.

Thus Sri Lankan Hotels have been successful

in providing accommodation up to

internationally reputed standards. These

included the Galle Face Hotel, Grand

Oriental Hotel, the Mount Lavinia Hotel,

Queens Hotel and Suisse Hotel in Kandy,

Grand Hotel and St. Andrews Hotel in

Nuwara Eliya, Bandarawela Hotel and New

Oriental Hotel in Galle etc. These hotels are

used as prime accommodation facilities for

foreign visitors. Hence Sri Lankan hoteliers

have been successful in accommodating the

expectations and preferences of foreign

tourists.

Meanwhile local tourism also plays a

significant role in the economy. Need for the

development of local tourism must be

emphasized particularly after the end of 30

years long civil war since people can move

freely to all parts of the country. But in Sri

Lanka domestic tourism has not been

developed up to the standard of foreign

tourism. In addition Sri Lankan hotels have

failed to incorporate the expectations of local

tourists. Therefore finding accommodation

for domestic tourists has become a major

problem that significantly affects domestic

tourism. Therefore this study analyses the

problem of poor performance of Sri Lankan

Hotels in catering to the expectations of local

tourists.

Research Objectives

1. To identify local tourists’

expectations on Sri Lankan hotels.

2. To recommend the strategies to be

adopted by the Sri Lankan hotels to

incorporate the expectations of local

tourists thereby increasing their

satisfaction level.

Significance of the Research

Domestic tourism is considered to be

important for any country for economic,

political and social reasons. Meanwhile

domestic tourism has been developing at a

rapid rate after the end of 30 years long civil

war in Sri Lanka. Therefore findings of this

study would be useful to the Sri Lankan

hotels to incorporate the expectations of local

tourists; hence Sri Lankan hotels can attract

local tourists and position their hotels among

local tourists. Therefore, domestic tourism

will be developed and ultimately it gives

value addition the Sri Lankan economy.

Furthermore these findings can indirectly

enhance social benefits such as harmony

among communities and recreation by

promoting local tourism.

Conceptual Model

The following conceptual framework has

been developed to study the expectations of

domestic tourists.

Page 3 of 6

Journal for Studies in Management and Planning

Available at http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/

e-ISSN: 2395-0463

Volume 02 Issue 4

April 2016

Available online: http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/ P a g e | 80

Source-Developed for this study

Conceptual framework shows that room rate,

service quality, locations and environment

and staff assistance are the customer

expectations.

Research Methodology

Quantitative methodology was applied for

this study. Thus survey method was applied.

Sample

Stratified random sampling method was

employed for the selection of respondents.

Thus 100 tourists were selected for the study

and thus 10 tourists each from 10 different

locations were comprised in this sample. The

composition of hundred tourists is given

below.

Hotel Suisse, Kandy - 10

Lihiniya Surf, Benthota - 10

Tissamaharama Resort -10

Queen’s Hotel, Kandy - 10

Hotel Seruwa, Polonnarauwa - 10

Kithulgala Rest House - 10

Grand Ella Motel - 10

Belihuloya Rest House - 10

Ambeypussa, Rest House - 10

Hotel Mihinthale - 10

Data collection method

The questionnaire method was utilized for

data collection. The questionnaire contained

two main parts; Part 1-Expectations of

customers and Part 2-Personal profile. Likert

scale of 1-5 which ranges from “Strongly

Disagree” to “Strongly Agree” was applied in

the part I of the questionnaire to identify

responses.

Data Analysis and data evaluation

Room Rate

Service Quality

Locations and

environment

Staff Assistance

Expectations of local tourist