Scientific Literature: Searchable Database

Marine mammal watching is a sub-category of wildlife tourism and has shown continual growth as a global industry. Sri Lanka is an island nation in the south of the Indian Ocean with one of the busiest whale watching industries. Three locations in Sri Lanka provide facilities for marine mammal watching enthusiasts namely Mirissa in the south-west, Trincomalee in the north-east and Kalpitiya on the west coast. This study attempts to explore the positive and negative factors associated with the whale watching industry in Mirissa which is predominantly based on reviews posted on Tripadvisor’s travel website. In addition to this, statistics gleaned by Sri Lanka Coast Guard were also taken into consideration. According to the respondents’ views, the study found five positive factors, two moderate factors and four negative factors affecting the whale watching industry in Mirissa. According to these factors authors have discussed the requirement for a strategic plan in order to ensure sustainability and improve the quality of services provided of the whale watching industry in Sri Lanka.