Can tourism in Sri Lanka shift from seasonality?

Seasonality in travel significantly impacts hotels’ operational and financial results as well as their chances of surviving. Numerous studies have examined how the seasonality of tourism affects hotels’ departure risk. The actual results, however, are unclear, most likely as a result of the general seasonality and various measurements used in these investigations.

This research uses a proportional hazards model to examine how the seasonality of tourism affects the departure risk of hotel companies.  According to research, the varying seasonal patterns of tourist demand in the different market segments reduce the effect of overall seasonality on hotels’ departure risk, and seasonality measurements of different tourism segments have distinct effects on exit risk.

Due to several factors affecting tourist demand, the seasonality of the tourism industry differs across different tourism categories. A tourist attraction’s general seasonal pattern may be amplified or lessened depending on the many driving factors that each section of the tourism business is subject to. One of the most dynamic and important sectors of the global economy today is the tourist industry.

However, due to the nature of the sector, there are many difficulties in enticing travelers to spend more time and money in the areas and, most significantly, to go beyond the major tourist destinations in the city center. Every tourist site in the world is impacted by the seasonality phenomena to some degree. Since it has a large economic impact and can be seen in the volume of tourists, their spending, and the number of admissions to attractions, seasonality is a quantifiable aspect of tourism.

It may be possible to change the incidence of seasonality by understanding its primary features. The regularity and consistency of seasonality are its primary characteristics. This implies that, in contrast to other difficulties, seasonality may be expected and predicted. It is easier to minimize since it is a known and almost dependable difficulty. However, human social, political, and economic agents are also major contributors to “institutional” seasonality.

The Holy Days, including Christmas, Easter, Passover, Ramadan, Solstices, and phases of the moon, were the first for “institutional seasonality.” The typical summer school vacation time is seen to be the primary institutional reason for tourism seasonality, much as school holidays were created in the eighteenth century to enable kids to help with agricultural harvesting. It is more difficult to alter these ingrained patterns since institutional seasonality has a lengthy history.

Few locations have successfully eradicated seasonality for an extended period of time since it might be a challenging endeavor. Tourism is a leisure activity, therefore choosing a place, activities, and level of participation are all choices that may be made. Most likely, tourists won’t be amenable to being pressured into changing their behavior.

It is crucial to comprehend the restrictions that prohibit visitors from visiting outside of the present visitation time, taking into consideration the three potential restraints on participation or restrictions on visitation. Constraints are not unchangeable; some of them may be reduced or modified.

Constraints are often divided into three types. Personal needs, socialization, and reference group views are all considered intrapersonal. These limitations may be related to accessibility, cost, participation difficulties, or time.