Abstract:
The emerging industry remarks indicated a growing average length of stay over the years
in Sri Lankan tourism. Length of stay denotes the amount of time that the tourist spends at
a given destination whereas the durations of tourism trip refer to the length of time
between departure from and return to home. However, Asia, the top source region to Sri
Lanka has continuously reported the lowest length of stay over the years compared to all
other regions. Therefore, the current study was carried out to identify the determinants of
length of stay of Asians tourists in Sri Lanka in terms of socio-demographics, travel
characteristics, destination attributes, and travel motives. Further, this study examined the
contribution of travel agencies to extend the length of stay of Asian tourists in Sri Lanka.
To achieve these objectives, primary data were collected through structured
questionnaires from 150 Asian tourists who visited the cultural triangle and occupied
structured interviews for managers of 8 travel agencies who handled the inbound tourism
in Sri Lanka with the Asian market. A convenient sampling technique was employed to
select tourists and travel agents in the sample. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis,
and, thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Accordingly, the sociodemographics, travel characteristics, and destination attributes indicated a significant
relationship with the length of stay of Asian tourists in Sri Lanka. Further, the budget and
the free time were two of the most significant reasons for the lower length of stay.
Problems with the allocated budget, language barriers, and itinerary changes were the
most critical reasons for the lower length of stay as highlighted by the travel agent.
Customized and improved tour package, integrated marketing communication, flexible
pricing strategies, and, lowering the tax/levy and other charges will make a significant
influence on the extended length of stay of Asian tourists’ in Sri Lanka.
Keywords: Length of stay, Cultural triangle, Travel motives, Asian tourists, Sri Lanka
