A Study of the Tourism Industry’s Impact on Visitors’ Satisfaction with a Special Focus on Anuradhapura

Abstract

Anuradhapura is one of the remarkable and ancient cities in Sri Lanka. It is a highly popular destination among historical sites in Sri Lanka leading to cultural tourism, one of the fastest growing tourism niche markets in mass tourism. It encompasses exquisite scenery, religious monuments, tanks, and monasteries etc. Annually, a large number of tourists travel to Anuradhapura to experience the historical value it offers. But there are several problems related to visitor satisfaction when it comes to facilities in the sacred city of Anuradhapura. The research problem of this study was to examine how visitor-satisfaction among those visiting Anuradhapura can be created. The other objectives were to recognize the deficits and issues encountered by the visitors at the site. The research was based on both primary sources including field observations, interviews and structured questionnaires and secondary sources including reports, magazines, websites etc. The site and its periphery were explored and the visitor-related facilities were observed to identify the current situation of the site. The research sample consisted of 20 domestic visitors and 50 foreign visitors who were randomly selected at the site during weekends in Anuradhapura. Visitors were interviewed with structured questionnaires to identify their perception, knowledge and comments regarding the site. The destination attracts domestic visitors more than foreign visitors. Many of the foreigners are from China and the other major markets are German, India and Thailand. Many of the domestic visitors are not entirely aware of the archaeological and historical value of Anuradhapura and visitor-related services and infrastructure facilities also are not at a satisfactory level for the well-being of travelers. In addition, there are many problems related to languages and an adequate experience is not delivered.