The Contribution of the Handicraft Industry towards the Industry of Tourism

Abstract

Tourism industry is an economic bewitchment for most countries in the globe. In this background tourism sector has become one of the main and effective industries in Sri Lankan service production sector. Foreign exchange that is generated by tourism industry should be distributed among the stakeholders for a sustainable development of the country. Sri Lankans are rich in unrecognized skills to create a large amount of tangible and intangible creations like crafts, traditional arts, dancing, music etc. Through these crafts, Sri Lanka can create a competitive market to which even the locals can be attracted. There are many traditional handicrafts in Sri Lanka. Made using creative minds, feelings, tactics and tools and they could to create an attractive product to the market. Most tourists wish to purchase something to take back to their motherland from traveled destinations as a sournior. Sri Lanka is a country which encompasses a number of unique tangible and intangible values. Therefore it is advisable to recognize the target groups to sell these products as a market strategy. Handicraft industry in Sri Lanka plays a great role in selling these products in an efficient manner. In this background, the objective of this research was to identify the obstacles of the handicraft industry and solutions for those with a view to creating a perfect outcome. This qualitative study is mainly based on secondary data: published journals, reports and the internet. It can be seen that, there is no sufficient methodical plan to develop his industry and people who are engaged in the industry, are facing number of problems. High prices of finished goods, low quality productions, high production cost and the less production capacity are some problems that here identified. This situation resulted in creating a low demand of Sri Lankan handicrafts at the international market. Uplifting the traditional craftsmen for a quality and market attracted product via training programmes and workshops, introducing modern technology for finishing an effective outcome are some of the solutions towards creating a proper established market. Giving incentives to produce these tourists’ related productions using traditional and intangible values while approaching in a qualitative manner comparing the trade with the international level, paying attention to take necessary steps to re-establish the arts and craft villages and giving awards to encourage locals for their creations are some recommendations that can be suggested.