Archaeology - Indrachapa Weerasinghe

Indrachapa Weerasinghe

Lecturer in Tourism & CRM

MTEHM (Colombo), MA (Kelaniya), BA (First Class Honours) in Tourism and Cultural Resource Management (Kelaniya)

Email chapaw@kln.ac.lk

Telephone +94112290813

Mobile +94771752316

Room No G-03

Postgraduate Supervision Not Available

BIOGRAPHY:

Mrs Indrachapa Weerasinghe is an award-winning academic and Lecturer at the University of Kelaniya, specialising in Tourism and Cultural Resource Management. She joined the Department of Archaeology as a Lecturer (Probationary) in 2021. As a distinguished researcher, she was recently honoured with First Place for Outstanding Young Researcher (2025) at the Vice-Chancellor’s Awards held in 2026 and the Senate Award in 2025 for publishing papers in indexed journals. Mrs Weerasinghe holds a B.A. (Honours) First Class Degree in Tourism and Cultural Resource Management and a Master of Arts Degree in Archaeology from the University of Kelaniya. Expanding her expertise in the discipline of tourism, she obtained a Master's Degree in Tourism Economics and Hotel Management from the University of Colombo. Mrs Weerasinghe is a scholarship awardee under the Erasmus+ Programme: Merging Voices 2024-2027 – Staff Mobility program to the University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD) in Portugal during October 2025. Currently, she is a doctoral candidate at the Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Colombo.

RESEARCH INTERESTS:

Tourism Marketing, Tourist Experience and Satisfaction Analysis, Heritage and Sustainable Tourism, Tourism Education

ONGOING RESEARCH & PROJECTS:

Ongoing doctoral research at the Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, titled Tourists' Satisfaction and Hedonic Values towards Electronic Brand Evangelism: A Case of Cultural Destinations in Sri Lanka.

TEACHING: (Papers taught in 2025/2026)

On study leave

POSITIONS:

Administrative Positions

Committee Member, Task Force for the Development of the University of Kelaniya (UoK) Policy on Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) (2025).
Subject Coordinator, Tourism and Cultural Resource Management (TCRM), Centre for Distance and Continuing Education (CDCE), University of Kelaniya (2022–2023).
Student Counsellor, University of Kelaniya (2021–2023).

Contributions as a Resource Person

Inspection Officer, Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) (2025–2026).
Guest Speaker, Department of Hindi, University of Kelaniya; conducted a specialised session on "The Importance of the Hindi Language in Tourism, Cultural Resources, and Hospitality Management" (2024).
Guest Speaker, World Migratory Birds Day Celebration, organised by the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science (SLAAS) (2013).

Conference Leadership: Chairing & Rapporteuring

Rapporteur, 10th International Conference on Multidisciplinary Studies, Research Centre for Social Sciences (RCSS), University of Kelaniya (2025).
Session Chair, ‘Cultural Tourism,’ International Conference on Archaeology, Heritage Management and History (ICAHH), Bhiksu University of Sri Lanka (2024).
Rapporteur, International Collaborative Seminar Series on "Social Issues and Challenges in Current Scenario," Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya (2024).
Session Chair, ‘Tourism & Hospitality Management,’ Undergraduate Conference on Archaeology, Bhiksu University of Sri Lanka (2018).
Rapporteur, International Postgraduate Research Conference (IPRC), University of Kelaniya (2015).

Conference & Workshop Committees

Program Committee Member, Undergraduate Research Symposium (URSS), Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya (2024).
Multidisciplinary Subcommittee Member (Academic, Logistics, Communication, and Publication), International Workshop on Ancient Urbanization in Sri Lanka (IWAUS), in collaboration with La Trobe University (Australia) and Durham University (UK) (2023).
Subcommittee Member (Academic, Logistics, and Publication), Workshop on Archaeology, Anthropology, and Tourism for Junior Researchers (2023).
Program Committee Member, The Inaugural Annual Senake Bandaranayake Symposium on Sri Lankan Archaeology (2023).
Organising Committee Member, Undergraduates’ International Conference on Archaeology, Department of Archaeology, University of Kelaniya (2016).
Committee Member, Tourism Leaders’ Summit & International Symposium of Tourism Economics and Hotel Management, University of Colombo (2016).
Coordinator, Publication Committee, 6th South and Southeast Asian Association for the Study of Culture and Religion (SSEASR) Conference (2015).
Organising Committee Member, "Cultural Heritage of Gandhara" Conference, Centre of Asian Studies, University of Kelaniya (2015).
Hospitality Management Committee Member, International Conference on Religious Tolerance and Harmony, Buddhist and Pali University of Sri Lanka (2015).

Exhibition & Event Organisation

Lead Organiser, "Golden Footprint" Tourism Exhibition, University of Kelaniya (2014).

Lead Organizer, Conference on Nature Tourism, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya (2014).

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES:

Reviewer, Discover Sustainability (Book), published by Springer Nature (December 2025).
Reviewer, Journal of Management and Tourism Research (JMTR), Volume 7, Issue II, Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka (2025).
Reviewer, 4th International Research Symposium on Management (IRSM 2025), Faculty of Management Studies, Rajarata University of Sri Lanka (2025).
Associate Editor, Retrospect: Peer-reviewed academic journal on Archaeology, Anthropology, History, and Heritage Tourism (2024).
Reviewer, International Conference on Archaeology, Heritage Management and History (ICAHH-2024), Bhiksu University of Sri Lanka (October 2024).
Reviewer, Undergraduate Research Symposium (URSS 2024), Research Centre for Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya (2024).
Editorial Board Member, The Inaugural Annual Senake Bandaranayake Symposium on Sri Lankan Archaeology, University of Kelaniya (May 2023).
Associate Editor, Retrospect: Peer-reviewed academic journal on Archaeology, Anthropology, History, and Heritage Tourism (2023).
Editorial Committee Member, Sarasavilecka Magazine, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya (2014).

ACHIEVEMENTS & AWARDS:

Outstanding Young Researcher (1st Place), Vice Chancellor’s Awards 2025, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya (awarded January 2026).
Erasmus+ Staff Mobility Scholarship (2024–2027), served as a Resource Person at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Portugal (October 2025).
Senate Honours and Cash Prizes for Indexed Journal Publications, recognised by the 394th Senate for research published in journals indexed in the Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI) and Scopus Q3 (March 2025).
Special Certificate for the Best Portfolio, Staff Development Centre, University of Kelaniya; awarded for excellence in the Teacher Training Program.
Gold Medal for Best Performance in Tourism and Cultural Resource Management, awarded for the highest achievement in the Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Degree Examination (2011/2012).

JOURNAL ARTICLES (selected):

Weerasinghe, G. B. I., & Biyiri, E. W. (2024). Exploring the tourist perceptions of destination components at the Sigiriya World Heritage Site: A TripAdvisor-based study. Conservation and Management of Archaeological Sites, 26(2–3), 207–229. https://doi.org/10.1080/13505033.2024.2416194
Weerasinghe, G. B. I. (2025). Visitor insights at Colombo National Museum: Marketing mix analysis based on TripAdvisor reviews. Journal of Management and Tourism Research, 7(1), 65–80.
Weerasinghe, G. B. I. (2018). Tour operators’ role in product diversification for enhancing visitor satisfaction: A case study of Hiriwadunna village tour, Dambulla, Sri Lanka. Journal of Tourism Economics and Applied Research, 2(1).
Weerasinghe, G. B. I. (2015). Tea tourism as a niche market in tourism industry. Santhathi, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya.
Weerasinghe, G. B. I. (2014). Tourism and accommodation sector in Sri Lanka. Samaja Wimarshana, 1. University of Kelaniya.
Weerasinghe, G. B. I. (2014). Tourism industry as an economical stimulation for a developing country. Sarasvi Lecka, 2. Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya.

BOOKS (selected):

Weerasinghe, G. B. I. (2019). Introduction to adventure tourism & tour operations. Neptune Publications.
Weerasinghe, G. B. I. (2019). Maduganga: The wetland paradise: Issues and challenges in tour operations. Neptune Publications.

BOOK CHAPTERS & EDITED VOLUMES (selected):

Weerasinghe, G. B. I. (2025). Visitor perspectives on perceived experiences at indigenous Vedda community tour in Sri Lanka: An explorative study of the TripAdvisor reviews. In M. Chakrabarti & G. Chakrabarti (Eds.), Intangible cultural heritage in a globalized world (Vol. 5, pp. 207–229). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-96-4663-0_17

CONFERENCES (selected):

Weerasinghe, G. B. I. (2025). Digital narratives of responsible tourism: A content analysis of Sri Lankan tour operators’ websites [Conference abstract]. Proceedings of the 10th International Conference of Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka (ICSUSL) (p. 52). Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka.
Weerasinghe, G. B. I., & Pamalka, A. A. H. (2025, October). Reflection of tourism destination image through online reviews: A netnographic approach to UNESCO World Heritage Site of Rangiri Dambulla Cave Temple, Sri Lanka [Conference abstract]. In W. D. Silva et al. (Eds.), Proceedings of the National Conference “Beyond Dr. Roland Silva: Charting New Frontiers in Sri Lanka’s Cultural Heritage” (p. 126). Central Cultural Fund and ICOMOS Sri Lanka.
Weerasinghe, G. B. I., & Pamalka, A. A. H. (2025, October). Assessing the socio-cultural sustainability in the hospitality sector: An analysis of tourist hotels’ websites in Sri Lanka [Conference abstract]. In D. A. C. Silva (Ed.), Proceedings of the 10th International Tourism Research Conference (pp. 37–38). University of Colombo.
Bandara, P. M. A. W. P., & Weerasinghe, G. B. I. (2025, September). Prison tourism as a form of dark tourism: Exploring the perspectives of prison officers in Welikada Active Prison, Sri Lanka [Conference abstract]. In B. Sathiyamoorthi & M. A. Indu (Eds.), Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Multidisciplinary Studies (p. 39). University of Kelaniya.
Weerasinghe, G. B. I. (2024). Guest awareness on sustainability practices in eco-friendly accommodations in Sri Lanka: An analysis of Booking.com reviews. Second Desk Research Conference (DRC). The Library, University of Kelaniya.
Weerasinghe, G. B. I., & Pamalka, A. A. H. (2024). An explorative study on the tourists’ perception of the tourist guides’ service based on TripAdvisor reviews: A case study of Polonnaruwa Ancient City, Sri Lanka. International Conference on Archaeology, Heritage Management and History (ICAHH-2024). Bhiksu University of Sri Lanka.
Weerasinghe, G. B. I. (2024). Exploring visitors' insights on visit experience at Colombo National Museum: A marketing mix-based approach based on TripAdvisor reviews. 8th International Research Conference of Uva Wellassa University (IRCUWU2024). Uva Wellassa University.
Weerasinghe, G. B. I. (2023). A contemporary analysis of tourist traffic to Anuradhapura Heritage Destination. International Workshop on Ancient Urbanization in Sri Lanka (IWAUS-2023). Department of Archaeology, University of Kelaniya.
Weerasinghe, G. B. I., & Rathnayake, S. (2023). A comparative study on the implication of traditional masks and muppets industry in Sri Lankan tourism industry. The Inaugural Annual Senake Bandaranayake Symposium on Sri Lankan Archaeology. University of Kelaniya.
Weerasinghe, G. B. I., & Rathnayake, S. (2023). Tourist experience enhancement in a museum through visitor services and facilities: A case of Colombo National Museum, Sri Lanka. The Inaugural Annual Senake Bandaranayake Symposium on Sri Lankan Archaeology. University of Kelaniya.
Weerasinghe, G. B. I., & Rathnayake, S. (2023). Rejuvenating the image of a travel destination during post-pandemic period: A case study on the perception of tourist service providers in Pinnawala area. International Conference on Developmentalism vs. Wellbeing of South Asian Societies (DeWeSAS). University of Kelaniya.
Weerasinghe, G. B. I., & Eranga, I. (2020). A case study of undergraduates’ perception on generic skills acquired from university education. International Conference on Advances in Computing & Technology (ICACT). University of Kelaniya.
Weerasinghe, G. B. I. (2018). An analysis of visitor satisfaction on service quality at Colombo National Museum, Sri Lanka. 4th International Conference on Social Sciences. University of Kelaniya.
Weerasinghe, G. B. I., & Sumangala, P. (2016). Potentials of promoting the Rajagala archaeological site as a tourist attraction. International Conference of the Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences. University of Ruhuna.
Weerasinghe, G. B. I., & Ransi, M. R. (2015). Potential for spice tourism in Sri Lanka: A case study of spice gardens in Matale District. International Conference on Postcolonial Societies in Transition (ICPST). University of Ruhuna.
Weerasinghe, G. B. I. (2015). Motivations of undergraduates for traveling as domestic tourists: A case study on final year undergraduates. 3rd Research Symposium of Temporary Academic Staff. University of Kelaniya.
Weerasinghe, G. B. I., & Rathnayake, M. V. R. M. S. (2015). Awareness of the domestic tourists on historical paintings at Dambulla Cave Temple. International Conference on the Humanities (ICH). University of Kelaniya.
Weerasinghe, G. B. I. (2015). Religious perception with colossal masterpieces: A case study of world’s largest Samadhi Buddha statue at Rambodagalla Temple, Kurunegala, Sri Lanka. 6th International Conference of the South and Southeast Asian Association for the Study of Culture and Religion (SSEASR). University of Kelaniya.
Weerasinghe, G. B. I., & Sumangala, P. (2015). An analysis of environmental factors that influenced Homo sapiens in establishing human settlements at Batadombalena. International Conference on Multidisciplinary Approaches. University of Sri Jayewardenepura.
Weerasinghe, G. B. I. (2015). Role of tea in the tourism industry in Sri Lanka. International Postgraduate Research Conference (IPRC). University of Kelaniya.
Weerasinghe, G. B. I. (2015). Involvement of travel agencies in Sri Lanka to promote museums in tourism industry through the medium of tour packages. 3rd Biennial Conference of the International Association for Asian Heritage (IAAH). University of Kelaniya.
Weerasinghe, G. B. I. (2015). Religious perception of foreign tourists at ancient Kelaniya Temple. 10th International Conference on Buddhist Studies. University of Sri Jayewardenepura.
Weerasinghe, G. B. I., & Sumangala, P. (2015). Promoting Pahiyangala Cave as a tourist attraction. 8th International Research Conference. General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University.
Weerasinghe, G. B. I. (2014). Modern museum aspects at Sigiriya Museum. International Conference on The Future Museum: An Asian Perspective. University of Kelaniya.
Weerasinghe, G. B. I. (2014). Tourist perception regarding tourism and hospitality industry in Kalpitiya region. 15th Annual Research Symposium. University of Kelaniya.
Weerasinghe, G. B. I., & Dilinika, J. M. S. (2014). Contribution of travel agency websites in creating an image of Sri Lanka as a perfect tourist destination. International Conference on Revisiting Social Responsibility in Contexts of Crisis. University of Colombo.
Weerasinghe, G. B. I. (2014). Sustainable accommodation sector in Kalpitiya region. 19th International Forestry and Environment Symposium. University of Sri Jayewardenepura.
Weerasinghe, G. B. I. (2024). Guest awareness on sustainability practices in eco-friendly accommodations in Sri Lanka: An analysis of Booking.com reviews. Second Desk Research Conference (DRC). University of Kelaniya.
Weerasinghe, G. B. I. (2023). A contemporary analysis of tourist traffic to Anuradhapura heritage destination. International Workshop on Ancient Urbanization in Sri Lanka (IWAUS-2023). University of Kelaniya.
Weerasinghe, G. B. I. (2014). Modern museum aspects at Sigiriya Museum. International Conference on The Future Museum: An Asian Perspective. University of Kelaniya.
Weerasinghe, G. B. I., & Sumangala, P. (2015). Promoting Pahiyangala cave as a tourist attraction. 8th International Research Conference. General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University.

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