Abstract:
In the present day, many travellers are traveling across the world beyond their
geographical boundaries to experience and visit many places with cultural heritage
values and identities. Sri Lanka is also a country where there are thousands of
attractions with tangible and intangible cultural heritage values. However, the
negative impacts of tourism on cultural heritage attractions also are reported
frequently. Therefore, a systematic investigation is much needed to identify how
the tourism negatively effects on cultural heritage sites in Sri Lanka. The main
objective of this study was to identify the impacts of tourism and related activities
on the heritage sites. By adopting a qualitative research approach, this study
focuses on the effects of tourism on the tangible cultural heritage values in
Mihintale, which is one of the main heritage sites in Sri Lanka. Data were gathered
from multiple sources like face-to-face interviews with government officers at the
Mihintale archaeological site and the police station, participant observations, and
photographs taken by the researcher using convenient and purposive sampling
techniques. Data were analysed manually by using thematic, content, image, and
descriptive analyses techniques where applicable. Results indicate that tourism
causes physical damages to the properties, deteriorates the heritage, distorts the
cultural heritage, misplaces the heritage properties, and encourages unfavourable
tourist behaviours at sacred sites. The results give a proper understanding of the
context of repercussions of tourism at cultural heritage sites. It should also be
stressed that recognizing the requirement for the conservation andpreservation of
significant cultural heritage resources is of vital importance in the effort of the
development of sustainable heritage tourism.
