CACTUS CACTUS J Tour Bus Manag Econ CACTUS – Journal of Tourism Business, Management and Economics 2247-3297 ASE Publishing House Bucharest, Romania 10.24818/CTS/5/2023/2.03 cactus-2023-12 Research Article Q56, R11, Z32 Unveiling the potential: exploring prospects and challenges for a high-yielding tea tourism segment Kumari W.G.V.D https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0527-9947 vishakadhananjani@gmail.com Karunarathne A.C.I.D Harshani G.H.V Uva Wellassa University, Badullla, Sri Lanka Uva Wellassa University, Badullla, Sri Lanka Uva Wellassa University, Badullla, Sri Lanka 15 12 2023 5 2 15122023 Copyright © 2023, The Author(s) 2023 The Author(s) This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0). https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

Tea tourism is a striking segment around the world due to the widespread tea lovers. Even though there is a huge potential to attract tourists for tea tourism while generating economic benefits for the host community, it has not developed properly as a product in Sri Lanka. Hence, the main purpose of this study was to identify the prospects and challenges of Sri Lankan tea tourism industry to make it a high-yielding tourism product. The mixed methodology was adopted as the research design and conveniently selected a sample of 350 (of local and foreign tourists) and 10 service providers involved in tourism businesses to collect primary data. Descriptive statistics, regression analysis and content analysis were used to meet the study objectives. The findings highlighted that push motive factors are more influencing for tourists to visit tea tourism establishments than pull motive factors. Moreover, tea tourists’ overall perception has a significant positive impact on their perceived experience about tea tourism. This author further stated that perceptions might be of two different kinds: external stimuli (resulting from the evaluation of destination qualities) and internal (personal) stimuli (depending on how the person wishes to perceive that destination). Further the researcher has identified attractions towards tea industry, demand to Ceylon tea, available activities and resources and future plans of the service providers as prospects in tea tourism industry in Sri Lanka. Moreover, the researcher has identified challenges in tea tourism industry under political, economic, environmental, operational and technological challenges.

 Keywords External Stimuli Internal Stimuli Motivations Perception Tea Tourism

Full text available in PDF format.

References Antón, C., Camarero, C., & Laguna-García, M. (2018). Experience value or satiety? The effects of the amount and variety of tourists’ activities on perceived experience. Journal of Travel Research, 57(7), 920–935. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287517727366 10.1177/0047287517727366 Arkkelin, D. (2014). Using SPSS to understand research and data analysis. Psychology Curricular Materials, 1, 1–196. https://scholar.valpo.edu/psych_oer/1 Arnould, E. J., & Price, L. L. (1993). River magic: Extraordinary experience and the extended service encounter. Journal of Consumer Research, 20(1), 24–45. https://doi.org/10.1086/209331 10.1086/209331 Bennike, R. (2017). Frontier commodification: Governing land, labour and leisure in Darjeeling, India. South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, 40(2), 256–271. https://doi.org/10.1080/00856401.2017.1289618 10.1080/00856401.2017.1289618 Breakey, N. M., & Breakey, H. E. (2015). Tourism and Aldo Leopold’s “cultural harvest”: Creating virtuous tourists as agents of sustainability. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 23(1), 85–103. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2014.924954 10.1080/09669582.2014.924954 Chen, L.-H., Wang, M.-J. (S)., Morrison, A. M., Ting, H., & Yeap, J. A. L. (2021). Guest editorial. International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, 15(3), 285–289. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCTHR-08-2021-298 10.1108/IJCTHR-08-2021-298 Cheng, S., Hu, J., Fox, D., & Zhang, Y. (2012). Tea tourism development in Xinyang, China: Stakeholders’ view. Tourism Management Perspectives, 2–3, 28–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2011.12.001 10.1016/j.tmp.2011.12.001 Cheng, S., Xu, F., Zhang, J., & Zhang, Y. (2010). Tourists’ attitudes toward tea tourism: A case study in Xinyang, China. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 27(2), 211–220. https://doi.org/10.1080/10548401003590526 10.1080/10548401003590526 Fernando, P. I. N., Rajapaksha, R. M. P. D. K., & Kumari, K. W. S. N. (2017). Tea tourism as a marketing tool: A strategy to develop the image of Sri Lanka as an attractive tourism destination. Kelaniya Journal of Management, 5(2), 64. https://doi.org/10.4038/kjm.v5i2.7518 10.4038/kjm.v5i2.7518 Gabbott, M. (2007). Consumer behaviour. In M. Baker & S. Hart (Eds.), The marketing book (6th ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780080942544 10.4324/9780080942544 Franklin, A. W. (2012). Management of the problem. In S. M. Smith (Ed.), The maltreatment of children (pp. 83–95). MTP. Gamage, D., & Samarathunga, M. (2020). Alternative tourism as an alternate to mass tourism during the post-COVID-19 recovery phase. Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). https://www.timesonline.lk/opinion/alternative-tourism-as-an-alternate-to-mass-tourism-during-the-post-covid-19-recovery-phase/158-1120006 Gupta, V., Khanna, K., & Gupta, R. K. (2018). A study on the street food dimensions and its effects on consumer attitude and behavioural intentions. Tourism Review, 73(3), 374–388. https://doi.org/10.1108/TR-03-2018-0033 10.1108/TR-03-2018-0033 Gupta, V., & Sajnani, M. (2020). Risk and benefit perceptions related to wine consumption and how it influences consumers’ attitude and behavioural intentions in India. British Food Journal, 122(8), 2569–2585. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-06-2019-0464 10.1108/BFJ-06-2019-0464 Gupta, V., Sajnani, M., Kumar Dixit, S., & Khanna, K. (2022). Foreign tourists’ tea preferences and relevance to destination attraction in India. Tourism Recreation Research, 47(4), 428–442. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2020.1841376 10.1080/02508281.2020.1841376 Ha, H.-Y., & Perks, H. (2005). Effects of consumer perceptions of brand experience on the web: Brand familiarity, satisfaction and brand trust. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 4(6), 438–452. https://doi.org/10.1002/cb.29 10.1002/cb.29 Hansen, T. (2005). Rethinking consumer perception of food quality. Journal of Food Products Marketing, 11(2), 75–93. https://doi.org/10.1300/J038v11n02_05 10.1300/J038v11n02_05 Holbrook, M. B., & Hirschman, E. C. (1982). The experiential aspects of consumption: Consumer fantasies, feelings, and fun. Journal of Consumer Research, 9(2), 132–140. https://doi.org/10.1086/208906 10.1086/208906 Hosany, S., & Witham, M. (2010). Dimensions of cruisers’ experiences, satisfaction and intention to recommend. Journal of Travel Research, 49(3), 351–364. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287509346859 10.1177/0047287509346859 Jang, S. (Shawn), Bai, B., Hu, C., & Wu, C.-M. E. (2009). Affect, travel motivation, and travel intention: A senior market. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 33(1), 51–73. https://doi.org/10.1177/1096348008329666 10.1177/1096348008329666 Jolliffe, L. (2007). Tea and tourism: Tourists, traditions and transformations. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/292244905_Tea_and_tourism_Tourists_traditions_and_transformations Jolliffe, L., & Aslam, M. S. M. (2009). Tea heritage tourism: Evidence from Sri Lanka. Journal of Heritage Tourism, 4(4), 331–344. https://doi.org/10.1080/17438730903186607 10.1080/17438730903186607 Jolliffe, L., Aslam, M. S. M., Khaokhrueamuang, A., & Chen, L.-H. (2023). Routledge handbook of tea tourism. Routledge. Kim, A. K., & Brown, G. (2012). Understanding the relationships between perceived travel experiences, overall satisfaction, and destination loyalty. Anatolia, 23(3), 328–347. https://doi.org/10.1080/13032917.2012.696272 10.1080/13032917.2012.696272 Kim, J. H., & Ritchie, B. W. (2012). Motivation-based typology: An empirical study of golf tourists. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 36(2), 251–280. https://doi.org/10.1177/1096348010388661 10.1177/1096348010388661 Kumara, W. G. N. P., & Kulathunga, K. M. M. C. B. (2013). Tourists’ attitudes towards tea tourism in Sri Lanka: A case in Badulla District (pp. 16–18). Luo, J. (2019). An exploratory study on tea tourism and tourists’ perception on tea tourism products of Yunnan Province, China (MBA thesis). Assumption University. Magar, C. K., & Kar, B. K. (2016). Tea plantations and socio-cultural transformation: The case of Assam, India. Space and Culture, India, 4(1), 25–39. https://doi.org/10.20896/saci.v4i1.188 10.20896/saci.v4i1.188 Prebensen, N. K., Vitterson, J., & Dahl, T. (2013). Value co-creation: Significance of tourist resources. Annals of Tourism Research, 42, 240–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2013.01.012 10.1016/j.annals.2013.01.012 Ranasinghe, W. T., Thaichon, P., & Ranasinghe, M. (2017). An analysis of product-place co-branding: The case of Ceylon tea. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 29(1), 200–214. https://doi.org/10.1108/APJML-10-2015-0156 10.1108/APJML-10-2015-0156 Robbins, S. P., & Coulter, M. (2002). Management. http://www.uop.edu.pk/ocontents/[Stephen_P._Robbins,_Mary_K._Coulter]_Management_-(BookZZ.org)%20(1).pdf Scorrano, P., Fait, M., Iaia, L., & Rosato, P. (2018). The image attributes of a destination: An analysis of the wine tourists’ perception. EuroMed Journal of Business, 13(3), 335–350. https://doi.org/10.1108/EMJB-11-2017-0045 10.1108/EMJB-11-2017-0045 Song, H. J., Lee, C.-K., Park, J.-A., Hwang, Y.-H., & Reisinger, Y. (2015). The influence of tourist experience on perceived value and satisfaction with temple stays: The experience economy theory. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 32(4), 401–415. https://doi.org/10.1080/10548408.2014.898606 10.1080/10548408.2014.898606 Su, M. M., Wall, G., & Wang, Y. (2019). Integrating tea and tourism: A sustainable livelihoods approach. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 27(10), 1591–1608. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2019.1648482 10.1080/09669582.2019.1648482 Wang, Q. J., Mielby, L. A., Junge, J. Y., Bertelsen, A. S., Kidmose, U., Spence, C., & Byrne, D. V. (2019). The role of intrinsic and extrinsic sensory factors in sweetness perception of food and beverages: A review. Foods, 8(6), Article 211. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods8060211 10.3390/foods8060211 Wu, J., & Holsapple, C. (2014). Imaginal and emotional experiences in pleasure-oriented IT usage: A hedonic consumption perspective. Information and Management, 51(1), 80–92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2013.09.003 10.1016/j.im.2013.09.003 Yeap, J. A. L., Ooi, S. K., Ara, H., & Said, M. F. (2021). Have coffee/tea, will travel: Assessing the inclination towards sustainable coffee and tea tourism among the green generations. International Journal of Culture, Tourism, and Hospitality Research, 15(3), 384–398. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCTHR-08-2020-0191 10.1108/IJCTHR-08-2020-0191 Yoon, Y., & Uysal, M. (2016). An examination of the effects of motivation and satisfaction on destination loyalty: A structural model. Tourism Management, 26(1), 45–56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2003.08.016 10.1016/j.tourman.2003.08.016