Challenges and Issues Confronting Sri Lanka in Museum Tourism Development

Cultural tourism has emerged as a growing sector of the global tourism industry. Theme-based museums have evolved as important partners in this burgeoning sector of the national economy. However, the statistics recorded only 29% of foreign tourists visiting museums during their visits to Sri Lanka in 2018-2019. This research identifies the prevailing challenges and issues museums face in developing museum tourism as a part of the national tourism strategy. This study has been narrowed down into the cluster of museums administered by the Department of National Museums of Sri Lanka as it is the major governmental body responsible for maintaining the national museums. The researcher conducted 18 semi-structured interviews with administrative positions in the Department of National Museums (DNM) and Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) in order to collect qualitative data during the study period of January to July 2019. Findings revealed the key challenges and issues as limited visitor facilities, funding barriers, structural barriers, emerging technologies, location and access barriers, limited collection, and unpublished competition in diversifying museum tourism experience in Sri Lanka. Finally, the researchers summarize the paper with a set of recommendations that may be useful for museum practitioners facing similar challenges.