Abstract:
At present, concept of homestay is getting popular in Sri Lanka due to growing
demand for tourist accommodations. This paper was aimed to analyse the
motivational factors of Homestay entrepreneurs using the Bentota destination site
as a case study. This research was based on structured questionnaire and in depth
interviews conducted along the research process. The findings suggested that
women participation is high among the homestay entrepreneurs. Therefore,
promoting homestay among women is a pathway to the sustainable development.
And for the majority of the respondents, operating a homestay was a
supplementary income source. In addition, the findings revealed that initiation of
homestay venter is influenced by both extrinsic factors such as opportunity to earn
income and family encouragement and intrinsic factors such as opportunity for
skill development and to gain experience
