Abstract:
This paper endeavors to reveal the impact of competitive capabilities which were
promoted by Community Based Tourism (CBT) empowerment projects on the
success of rural tourism businesses and also key competitive capabilities which
effect business success. The positivism approach was applied and a 250 sample
of micro and small-scale tourism entrepreneurs (MSSTEs) from the rural
tourism destinations of Panama and Arugam Bay in Ampara district and
Kanneliya, Vihrahena, Mederipitiya, and Godahena in Galle and Matara districts
who were empowered by the CBT projects namely, International Labour
Organization and Ruhunu Tourism Bureau was selected by using the random
number generator with the list of the MSSTEs of the two selected CBT projects.
A structured questionnaire was used in collecting data and five hypotheses were
formulated and tested to reveal whether any significant impact creates by the
competitive capabilities empowered by CBT projects on tourism business success
in rural destinations and which competitive capability affects mostly on creating
a variance in business success. Results were obtained mainly through correlation
and multiple regression analysis. Findings revealed that empowerment efforts
of CBT projects affect significantly the business success of MSSTES. Among
the five constructs of competitive capabilities, capacity enhancement, community
collaboration and cohesiveness, and business know-how and management are the only predictors which affect significantly business success. Facilitating network
building and sustainability practices are not good predictors. Though the impact
of network building and sustainability practices on business success was reported
as insignificant, a positive but weak correlation exists between these variables.
This positive relationship implies that success of rural tourism businesses can be
further enhanced by promoting these two capabilities and the concentration need
to be given by policy planners and practitioners on the inappropriate assistance
of the CBT projects for network building and sustainability practices among the
MSSTEs in rural tourism destinations.
