Revival of Sri Lankan Wildlife Tourism Operation in New Normal Conditions of Covid -19: Challenges and Readiness

https://doi.org/10.35912/joste.v3i2.1353
Published: Jan 27, 2023

Abstract:

Purpose: Wildlife tourism industry as a form of nature-based tourism was a rapidly growing niche market segment & has developed a revenue platform for many economies. Outstretching the Pandemic of COVID-19, badly hit with wildlife tourism sector too. Nevertheless, it is a contemporary need to rejuvenate the current market segments to reconstruct tourism industry potentials. This study explores the ways and means to revival of wildlife tourism operations with the challenges of COVID-19.

Methodology/approach: This study used a qualitative research approach. Primary data was collected from 16 wildlife service providers at Minneriya national park using the purposive sampling technique. Content analysis was used to analyze the data.

Results/findings: The study's findings revealed operational, financial, labor-related, communication, technology & economic impact as the existing challenges in wildlife tourism operations during pandemics & introducing recreational activities, health & safety measures, technology, policy planning, etc. should be key priorities to revive the wildlife tourism sector in a post-COVID-19 scenario.

Limitations: The study limited to the Minneriya National Park and given the number of existing national parks in Sri Lanka, the geographical region is comparatively smaller.

Contribution: The outcome of this study recommends the Sri Lankan policy makers to identify the gaps to promote wildlife tourism from the perspective of service providers. The pandemic has created a sustainable platform to rejuvenate the wildlife tourism which it has been enabled to address the issues in long-term.

Novelty: Based on the results, there should be strong transformational strategies to avoid the worst effects of future operation: such as government involvement, financial facilities, promotions, and research & development. This study identified a response mechanism to attract travelers to achieve a niche market segment. It will manifest the significance to the future generation, policymakers, and academic students to grab value scale for future operation in new normal conditions and post-COVID-19.

Keywords:
1. Challenges
2. COVID-19
3. Readiness
4. Service Providers
5. Wildlife Tourism
Authors:
1 . H.P.P.M. Pathiraja
Department of Tourism Studies, Uva Wellassa University, Badulla, Sri Lanka
2 . A.C.I.D. Karunarathne
Department of Tourism Studies, Uva Wellassa University, Badulla, Sri Lanka
3 . Vindya Hewage
Department of Tourism Studies, Uva Wellassa University, Badulla, Sri Lanka
4 . H.N. Jayawardena
Department of Tourism Studies, Uva Wellassa University, Badulla, Sri Lanka
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How to Cite
Pathiraja, H., Karunarathne, A., Hewage, V., & Jayawardena, H. (2023). Revival of Sri Lankan Wildlife Tourism Operation in New Normal Conditions of Covid -19: Challenges and Readiness. Journal of Sustainable Tourism and Entrepreneurship, 3(2), 117–129. https://doi.org/10.35912/joste.v3i2.1353
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Vol. 3 No. 2 (2022): January
Articles
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References

    References

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    Moswete, N., Nkape, K., & Tseme, M. (2017). Wildlife tourism safaris, vehicle decongestion routes and impact mitigation at Chobe National Park, Botswana Wildlife tourism, environmental learning and ethical encounters (pp. 71-88): Springer.

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    Ranasinghe, R., Damunupola, A., Wijesundara, S., Karunarathna, C., Nawarathna, D., Gamage, S., . . . Idroos, A. A. (2020). Tourism after corona: Impacts of COVID 19 pandemic and way forward for tourism, hotel and mice industry in Sri Lanka. Hotel and Mice Industry in Sri Lanka.

    Ranasinghe, R., Kumudulali, U., & Ranaweera, A. (2019). The role of park attributes in visitor satisfaction: Evidence from Minneriya National Park in Sri Lanka. Journal of Sustainable Tourism and Entrepreneurship (JoSTE), 1(1), 87-104.

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    Sawitri, R. A. D., Eltivia, N., & Riwajanti, N. I. (2021). Forecasting the number of foreign tourists visiting Indonesia during the Covid-19 Pandemic. Journal of Sustainable Tourism and Entrepreneurship, 2(4), 233-251.

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    Sumanapala, D., & Wolf, I. D. (2022). The changing face of wildlife tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic: an opportunity to strive towards sustainability? Current Issues in Tourism, 25(3), 357-362.

    Templeton, A., Goonan, K., & Fyall, A. (2021). COVID-19 and its impact on visitation and management at US national parks. International Hospitality Review, 35(2), 240-259.

    Tessema, M. E., Lilieholm, R. J., Ashenafi, Z. T., & Leader-Williams, N. (2010). Community attitudes toward wildlife and protected areas in Ethiopia. Society and natural resources, 23(6), 489-506.

    Tiimub, B. M., Gbolo, B., Tiimob, R. W., Tiimob, E. L., Kumedzro, V., & Tiimob, E. (2019). Impact of community participation in adaptive wildlife resources management at Mole National Park, Ghana. Journal of Sustainable Tourism and Entrepreneurship, 1(2), 139-149.

    Weaver, D. B., & Lawton, L. J. (2017). A new visitation paradigm for protected areas. Tourism management, 60, 140-146.

    Yin, D., Gao, Q., & Zhu, H. (2021). Rethinking wildlife tourism and conservation during the COVID-19 pandemic: An animal ethics perspective. Society & Natural Resources, 34(10), 1423-1429.

    Zakaria, A. (2021). Assessing the effectiveness of local community leaders in managing forest resources in the Mole National Park. Journal of Sustainable Tourism and Entrepreneurship, 3(1), 1-16.

  1. References
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  3. Bertella, G. (2018). Sustainability in wildlife tourism: challenging the assumptions and imagining alternatives. Tourism Review.
  4. Burns, G. L., & Sofield, T. H. (2001). The Host Community: CRC for Sustainable Tourism.
  5. Duminduhewa, C., Wimalarathana, R., & Kaldeen, M. (2020). Demand for Responsible Tourism In Sri Lanka: A Case Study of Yala Wildlife Destination. Journal on Tourism & Sustainability, 4(1), 27-40.
  6. Ekpah, O. (2021). Wildlife status and ecotourism potentials of Lekki Conservation Centre, Lagos, Nigeria. Journal of Sustainable Tourism and Entrepreneurship, 2(4), 199-212.
  7. Eranga, R. (2021). Review of wildlife tourism’s contribution to wildlife conservation in Sri Lanka and challenges caused by COVID-19 pandemic. ??????= The International Journal of Tourism Science, (14), 37-41.
  8. Eshun, G., & Tichaawa, T. M. (2020). Towards sustainable ecotourism development in Ghana: Contributions of the local communities. Tourism: An International Interdisciplinary Journal, 68(3), 261-277.
  9. Hambira, W. L., Stone, L. S., & Pagiwa, V. (2022). Botswana nature-based tourism and COVID-19: transformational implications for the future. Development Southern Africa, 39(1), 51-67.
  10. Kideghesho, J. R., Kimaro, H. S., Mayengo, G., & Kisingo, A. W. (2021). Will Tanzania’s Wildlife Sector Survive the COVID-19 Pandemic? Tropical Conservation Science, 14, 19400829211012682.
  11. Mbaiwa, J. E. (2017). Poverty or riches: Who benefits from the booming tourism industry in Botswana? Journal of Contemporary African Studies, 35(1), 93-112.
  12. Meyer, L., Apps, K., Bryars, S., Clarke, T., Hayden, B., Pelton, G., . . . Huveneers, C. (2021). A multidisciplinary framework to assess the sustainability and acceptability of wildlife tourism operations. Conservation Letters, 14(3), e12788.
  13. Moswete, N., Nkape, K., & Tseme, M. (2017). Wildlife tourism safaris, vehicle decongestion routes and impact mitigation at Chobe National Park, Botswana Wildlife tourism, environmental learning and ethical encounters (pp. 71-88): Springer.
  14. Newsome, D. (2020). The collapse of tourism and its impact on wildlife tourism destinations. Journal of Tourism Futures, 7(3), 295-302.
  15. Nicola, M., Alsafi, Z., Sohrabi, C., Kerwan, A., Al-Jabir, A., Iosifidis, C., . . . Agha, R. (2020). The socio-economic implications of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19): A review. International journal of surgery, 78, 185-193.
  16. Puri, J. (2019). Socio-economic impacts of wildlife tourism in kasara, chitwan. Journal of APF Command and Staff College, 2(1), 70-79.
  17. Ranasinghe, R., Damunupola, A., Wijesundara, S., Karunarathna, C., Nawarathna, D., Gamage, S., . . . Idroos, A. A. (2020). Tourism after corona: Impacts of COVID 19 pandemic and way forward for tourism, hotel and mice industry in Sri Lanka. Hotel and Mice Industry in Sri Lanka.
  18. Ranasinghe, R., Kumudulali, U., & Ranaweera, A. (2019). The role of park attributes in visitor satisfaction: Evidence from Minneriya National Park in Sri Lanka. Journal of Sustainable Tourism and Entrepreneurship (JoSTE), 1(1), 87-104.
  19. Rathnayake, R. M. W. (2016). Pricing the enjoyment of ‘elephant watching’at the Minneriya National Park in Sri Lanka: An analysis using CVM. Tourism Management Perspectives, 18, 26-33.
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  21. Sawitri, R. A. D., Eltivia, N., & Riwajanti, N. I. (2021). Forecasting the number of foreign tourists visiting Indonesia during the Covid-19 Pandemic. Journal of Sustainable Tourism and Entrepreneurship, 2(4), 233-251.
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  23. Sharpley, R. (2002). The challenges of economic diversification through tourism: the case of Abu Dhabi. International journal of tourism research, 4(3), 221-235.
  24. SLTDA. (2019). 2018 Annual Statistical Report. Retrieved from https://www.sltda.gov.lk/storage/common_media/Tourist%20Board%20Annual%20Statistical%20Report%202018_Web784216427.pdf
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  28. Sumanapala, D., & Wolf, I. D. (2022). The changing face of wildlife tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic: an opportunity to strive towards sustainability? Current Issues in Tourism, 25(3), 357-362.
  29. Templeton, A., Goonan, K., & Fyall, A. (2021). COVID-19 and its impact on visitation and management at US national parks. International Hospitality Review, 35(2), 240-259.
  30. Tessema, M. E., Lilieholm, R. J., Ashenafi, Z. T., & Leader-Williams, N. (2010). Community attitudes toward wildlife and protected areas in Ethiopia. Society and natural resources, 23(6), 489-506.
  31. Tiimub, B. M., Gbolo, B., Tiimob, R. W., Tiimob, E. L., Kumedzro, V., & Tiimob, E. (2019). Impact of community participation in adaptive wildlife resources management at Mole National Park, Ghana. Journal of Sustainable Tourism and Entrepreneurship, 1(2), 139-149.
  32. Weaver, D. B., & Lawton, L. J. (2017). A new visitation paradigm for protected areas. Tourism management, 60, 140-146.
  33. Yin, D., Gao, Q., & Zhu, H. (2021). Rethinking wildlife tourism and conservation during the COVID-19 pandemic: An animal ethics perspective. Society & Natural Resources, 34(10), 1423-1429.
  34. Zakaria, A. (2021). Assessing the effectiveness of local community leaders in managing forest resources in the Mole National Park. Journal of Sustainable Tourism and Entrepreneurship, 3(1), 1-16.