Effect of tourists harassments to the destination image and repeat visit intention of tourists: a case study of Sri Lanaka

Beach sites are considered as one of the major travel motives of the tourists to visit Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is rich with wonderful beach sites including Hikkaduwa, Unawatuna, Bentota. However, many tourists visiting Sri Lanka have to undergo many forms of harassment. Ensuring safety of tourists in the tourists’ destinations is an important factor to retaining the higher number of tourist arrivals to the country since it is significance to the Sri Lankan Economy. Amidst to this background, the main objective of this study is to identify the types of the harassments faced by the tourists at beach sites in Sri Lanka and to identify the impact of tourists’ harassments to the destination image and the propensity to repeat. Both qualitative method and quantitative method used to carry out the study. Primary data for the research were collected using a questionnaire survey with tourists and the discussions with the community members, site guides, hoteliers, officers who work in tourism related organizations. Further, secondary data were collected using articles published in the internet, tourists police reports (RTC-PTD Report) and tourist magazines. Both systematic random sampling method and convenience sampling method used for the study, respectively sample the foreign tourists from Hikkaduwa and the inter-viewers. The study revealed that the tourists who stay at Hikkaduwa undergo of harassments from different parties like beach boys, pesters, thieves…etc. These harassments create dissatisfaction among the tourists and it also affect for the destination image and the propensity to repeat.