Page 27 - 2022 Abstract Book RUICHSS_2022_11_17 after conference

University of Ruhuna ISSN: 2706-0063
Matara, Sri Lanka

Possibilities of Popularizing and Commercializing
Hitchhiking Tourism in Sri Lanka

K.H. Lakmali
University of Ruhuna
hiroshilakmali@gmail.com

Hitchhiking defines as strangers asking for free rides to reach their desired
destinations. Hitchhiking tourism is a relatively new phenomenon in Sri Lanka and
yet widely used in the western world and popular among young travellers. The
concept became more popular with the advancement of social media which allows
travellers to share their experiences and adventures with a larger audience. However,
limited studies have focused on hitchhiking tourism in Sri Lanka even though it is
one of the popular and affordable tourist destinations in the world. The purpose of
this research is to identify the experiences of hitchhiker tourists and explore the
possibilities of popularizing and commercializing hitchhiking tourism in Sri Lanka.
Qualitative research methodology has been used in the research and Netnography was
the data collection tool. The study analyzed the data collected from an Indian tourist’s
hitchhiking experience from Weligama to Ella, Sri Lanka and comments from 698
people all over the world. Thematic and SWOT analysis was employed to analyze the
data. Some of the significant strengths were Sri Lankan people's friendliness and
hospitality, opportunity to explore unpopular tourist destinations, tourists’
enthusiasm with the local culture and high potentiality of hitchhiking as a sustainable
transport method in Sri Lanka. Weaknesses are poor awareness of hitchhiking,
miscommunication prejudices of locals on tourists. Among Opportunities hitchhiking
was found to be the easiest ways to promote Sri Lankan tourism to a larger audience;
the experiences seem more real and authentic. The unwarranted safety of travellers,
especially for females, fuel crisis and poor infrastructure, bad experiences and
comments of former travellers were among the identified threats. In conclusion,
awareness of hitchhiking will have a profound impact on Sri Lankan tourism. Further,
there is a possibility of developing a mobile application for hitchhiking which
commercializes the nonprofit activity and enhances the safety of the travellers.

Keywords: Adventure tourism, Cultural tourism, Hitchhiking Tourism, Sustainable
transport, Mobile application

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