LOST ON PURPOSE
A JOURNEY OF DISCOVERIES
Destination II - The emerging South Coast of Sri Lanka
We continued working in the Melbourne constellation. This time we were concentrating on Micro & Small size Enterprises (MSE).
The research goal was to analyse and evaluate relevant information for strategic decision making in order to:
1. Assess the present situation: Is there a good match between the present destination area features (supply) and the attending markets (demand)?
2. Reveal the destinations 'probable future' (considering the aspects of competitiveness and the potential destination development opportunities, what is most likely to happen?)
This part of the report gives you inside in the destination's competitiveness.
Sri Lanka's South Costal competitiveness
Theoretical Framework
Figure 2: Theoretical framework, based on Destination competitiveness model by Dwyer and Kim (2003)
Less important for this research are the situational conditions are political, economic, social, cultural, environmental, and legal forces that impact upon destination competitiveness and on the way organisations operate in the destination (David, 2001). Furthermore, destination management factors such as governmental regulations, which strengthen the effectiveness of supporting resources, are considered as less important for this case (Crouch & Ritchie, 1999). Nevertheless, it can be generally said that human resources development such as the commitment of the public and private sector to tourism education needs to be taken into consideration. Tourists, led by travel motives and perceived image of the destination, correspond to the demand. The government is directly integrated in the model as part of the destination management.
Destination competitiveness
Because of increasing tourism demand over the past years as well as substantial changes in tourism globally, destinations have become highly competitive. According to Dwyer & Kim (2003) a destination must ensure that its overall attractiveness, and the integrity of the experiences it delivers to visitors, must equal or surpass that of the many alternative destinations open to potential visitors in order to succeed in the international tourism marketplace. Tourism stakeholders need to adapt their positioning in relation to these changes. In order to achieve a destination competitive advantage, all relevant stakeholders have to understand clearly the directions of changes and their impact on business strategies.
A definition of the understanding about destination competitiveness in order to specify the goals is necessary. This helps to define the function, the role and the future of MSE’s more clearly. Within this goal the destinations strengths are considered. A combination of the strongest supporting resource and natural resources is given: Maximise the hospitality while minimize environmental and cultural impact.
The destination’s, including their stakeholder’s, opportunity lies in keeping the hospitality (friendliness of residents towards tourists, communication) as high as possible, while their nature (beaches) and their cultural habits (cultural precincts and villages, variety of cuisine) should be affected as least as possible.
Table 1. The match between supply and demand in the Southern Coastal area
Based on the analysis in the previous paragraphs, the match between the supply and demand is assessed. First, the area is mostly famous for its quiet and safe beaches, together with national parks, which match with the tourists’ demand for nature and relaxation. Moreover, the prices in the area are affordable. Tourists are satisfied with the value for the money they spend on accommodation, food and other facilities. Finally, the research found out that the area and local population are friendly towards tourists. Considering that hospitality plays an important role on the demand side for the area, it can be concluded that there is a match.
On the other hand, there are mismatches between the demand and supply. The area does not offer a variety of activities, and, for now, only national park tours and surfing and beaches. The research reveals that tourists have the problem that staff in the area cannot communicate by English effectively. The lack of experienced staff on the supply side mismatches with the demand of experienced staff. Moreover, the accessibility of the area does not match with the demand. Despite new highways are being built and roads are improved, the area remains remote from other touristic areas and from Colombo airport, the main entrance to Sri Lanka. When looking at the Hambantota area, there are many underused facilities, such as the convention centre in Hambantota and Matara airport, which rarely receive tourists. And the hotels in Hambantota are mainly MLO’s, who target the high-end tourist group as the niche market in Sri Lanka tourism. They cater for this specific group with all-inclusive service in the hotels.
In order to evaluate the impact of different factors and to analyse the destination’s potential, the Dwyer and Kim's (2003) competitiveness model is applied. This model reveals how the different components of a tourism destination impact its competitiveness. Several determinants selected from a list of indicators of competitiveness based on the following model will be analysed in the present report.
Since the competitiveness analysis is based on a stakeholder analysis, it is important to mention that the different stakeholders involved in tourism of the south-east area are indirectly represented in this model. Therefore, the MSE’s directly linked to tourism such as the infrastructure built by restaurants, accommodation providers and the range of activities are part of the created resources. Endowed resources are natural elements. The general infrastructure, quality of service, hospitality and foreign investors are supporting factors, which underpin destination competitiveness. MSE’s can use these resources to participate in the destinations competitiveness.
