Browsing by Author "Weerasingha, G.B.I."

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An Analysis of Visitor Satisfaction on Service Quality at Colombo National Museum, Sri Lanka
(4th International Conference on Social Sciences 2018, Research Centre for Social Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Weerasingha, G.B.I.
A national museum has the potential to offer an authentic experience about the travel destination at a glance. Colombo National Museum, being located in the commercial hub of the island, is a determinant attraction in both cultural and heritage tourism aspects. Historical perspectives and the prestige artefacts denoted at the museum, attract thousands of visitors per annum. It is beneficial to measure the visitor satisfaction at Colombo Museum since the visitor is prominent for any tourist attraction to determine the survival of the attraction. Further the satisfaction level is critical on decision making of reviews, revisits, recommendations and creating an image about the attraction. Visitors are arriving with certain levels of perception and after the visit the perceived experience is resulted on different satisfaction levels due to the available facilities, features, and services at the site. Major objective is to analyse the service quality gap at the site as a tourist attraction. Specific objectives are to evaluate the quality of the visitor related facilities at the site and to explore the possibilities to promote the site with enhancing the visitor experience with quality services. The research is conducted on both qualitative and quantitative methods, where primary and secondary sources are referred in data collecting. Survey technique is used with structured questionnaire distributed for the visitors at the premises and the museum management was interviewed to identify their intellectual ideas. The questionnaire given for the visitors is designed based on the SERVEQUAL method where the visitors’ expectations were compared to perceived experience at the site. 5 elements in SERVEQUAL model including Reliability, Assurance, Tangibles, Empathy and Responsiveness were measured. 50 foreign visitors and 50 domestic visitors were used as the sample based on convenience sampling technique. Findings of the research indicate that there is distinctive gap between the visitors’ expectations and the perceived experience on service quality during the visit to the Colombo Museum
Awareness of the Domestic Tourists on Historical Paintings at Dambulla Cave Temple
(University of Kelaniya, 2015) Weerasingha, G.B.I.; Rathnayake, M.V.R.M.S.
The Dambulla Cave Temple is in existence since 300 B.C. and has been occupied continuously until the present. The paintings at the site are considered the largest collection of ancient paintings in Sri Lanka. The site has attracted international tourists due to it being named a UNESCO World Heritage site while it has attracted domestic tourists due to its religious significance. Domestic tourists are not entirely aware of the historical and heritage value of the site or the paintings. This study focuses on the extent to which domestic visitors have been aware of the paintings of Dambulla Cave Temple. The main objective of the study was to identify the awareness, knowledge, and perception of the domestic visitors on the paintings. Another objective wasto identify the effectiveness of the information provided at the site for the domestic visitors. The research was based on field survey methodology where 50 domestic visitors were interviewed using structured questionnaires. The sample was randomly selected at the site and represented both the younger generation and senior citizens. Most of the domestic visitors lack knowledge of the historical value and they are not provided basic information on the paintings. The younger generation has acquired basic knowledge on the paintings unlike the senior citizens who have been attracted to the site only due to its religious value. Though the site management has implemented an adequate approach to information dissemination, most of the domestic visitors do not access this information. Domestic tourists needs to be provided with the services of local guidesin order to understand the value of the paintings.
Tourist perception regarding the tourism and hospitality industry in
(Book of Abstracts, Annual Research Symposium 2014, 2014) Weerasingha, G.B.I.
Tourists' perception regarding the destination is a major requirement to increase the tourist arrival. Tourist should be satisfied with travel experience and hospitality service that he/she encountered at the destination. Main objective of this research was to identify whether the tourists are satisfied with the above mentioned key components in Kalpitiya region.