Abstract:
Many people used to travel when they have their vacation to avoid the consistency of
their lives. As declared by Lonely Planet, Sri Lanka is one of the world’s number one
destination to visit in 2018. Sri Lanka is a leading travel destination for Middle East
tourists. Even though Sri Lanka has paid attention to the Middle East market, it has not
been able to achieve a significantly high number of arrivals from the Middle East. Hence,
the main objective of this study was to identify the reasons for decline of Middle East
tourists’ market in Sri Lanka. The researcher adopted the semi-structured interview to
gather data about influencing factors of the decline of the Middle East tourist market. A
sample of 15 stakeholders was selected using purposeful sampling method in which
hoteliers, travel agents, tour and site guides, representatives from Sri Lanka Tourism
Development Authority (SLTDA) and Promotion Bureau were interviewed. The views
and opinions of the respondents were collected through the interviews. The analysis was
done through thematic analysis and the researcher identified safety and security, facilities,
attractions, marketing strategies, services, and other issues as the main themes. The
findings revealed that the dissatisfaction of safety and security, lack of facilities, lack of
manmade attractions, limitation of night functions, dissatisfaction of the hotel and guide
services, lack of marketing strategies, and other issues such as terrorism and restrictions
have attributed significantly to decline the Middle East tourists’ market in Sri Lanka.
Furthermore, implementing new rules and giving special attention for the Middle East
tourists’ expectation can turn around the situation and promote the Middle East market.
Keywords: Middle East tourists’ market, influencing factors
