Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage as a Sustainable Tourist Destination

Abstract

Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage is a leading tourist destination in Sri Lanka. Most of the foreigners who come to Sri Lanka choose this destination as one of the places to visit during their tour. This study focuses on discussing the importance of the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage as a sustainable tourist destination. The objective of this research was to identify how this study area acts as a sustainable tourist destination. This objective can be analyzed under four categories. Those are, 1. Community development 2. Earning foreign exchange to country 3. Visitor satisfaction 4. Protecting elephants Printed Media (Books) and Electronic Media (Internet) were used as primary sources and interviews were used as the secondary source to collect data. Sample was randomly selected at the site to represent the visitors, officers as well as community people and analyzed those qualitative data. As a leading tourist destination, Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage mainly generates income for the country. It not only contributes to increase foreign exchange earnings in the country but also generates many ways to earn income for community people who live in this area. And also by using various aspects, the people have found ways to satisfy visitors who come to this destination. Mainly Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage plays a major role of protecting and taking caring of elephants in Sri Lanka.