Enriched with biodiversity, cultural, and historical significance, the northern province has a high ecotourism potential. However, the province has not been achieved its full potential for ecotourism development even after the armed conflict. A one-year study was conducted from April 2020 to May 2021 to investigate the ecotourism potential. Data were collected through an online questionnaire survey and field visits. The ecotourism potentiality was evaluated using Pralong’s method selecting 20 prominent places. Potentiality map for the northern province was produced using ARC GIS 10.3 software. According to the survey, the majority (89%) answered that there is a high potential for the northern province to develop as an ecotourism destination. However, there are several hindrances for this namely lack of community and institution participation, lack of infrastructure, lack of transportation, and the lack of accessibility. According to the analyzed map, the Jaffna district has the highest potentiality for ecotourism development, followed by Mannar, Killinochchi, and Mullaittivu. The Vavuniya district has a low potential for ecotourism development. Therefore, necessary infrastructure development and promotional activities should be operationalized to improve the area as an ecotourism destination. Hence, the northern province has an amazing ecotourism potential for future ecotourism developments in Sri Lanka.
Aloysius et al. (Thu,) studied this question.