Tourism in Sri Lanka stands at a crossroads. While the industry is a crucial driver of economic recovery, it also places immense pressure on the country’s natural resources. This paradox—where tourism both depends on and threatens nature—requires urgent attention for long-term sustainability. CSF’s new report ‘Spotting the Problem’ explores this intricate relationship through the lens of complexity theory, highlighting the case of overcrowding and safari misbehaviour in Yala National Park Block 1. Based on a mixed-methods study incorporating local stakeholder perspectives and using a systems mapping of perceptions on the issue as an example, the report presents five key insights into how tourism and nature interact through the lens of complexity theory.
The findings underscore that as a complex system, tourism will have diverse stakeholders that directly and indirectly impact the issue of overcrowding and Safari misbehaviour. Therefore, in order to have effective solutions to this problem collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders is a prerequisite. The systems mapping of perceptions on the issue of overcrowding and safari misbehaviour can be viewed below (and at this link) through a tutorial presentation.
For an in-depth discussion on the rationale, methodology, and related considerations of CSF’s overall study on the interactions between tourism and nature, refer to the Background and Scoping Report ‘How Tourism and Nature interact: Studying perceptions in Three Sites in Sri Lanka’ accessible here.
