Thirsha Abeysekare
Thirsha Abeysekare
Junior Fellow in Tourism and CRM
BA in Tourism & Cultural Resource Management (Kelaniya)
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BIOGRAPHY:
BIOGRAPHY:
Thirsha Abeysekare holds a First-Class Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in Tourism & CRM with German Language from the same department, graduating with a GPA of 3.99. Throughout her undergraduate studies, she received Faculty Excellence Awards in recognition of her outstanding academic achievements.
RESEARCH INTERESTS:
RESEARCH INTERESTS:
Cultural tourism, Heritage management, Smart tourism, Tourism technology, Sustainable tourism development, Community-based tourism
ACHIEVEMENTS & AWARDS:
ACHIEVEMENTS & AWARDS:
Best Research of the Session, Undergraduate Research Conference, Buddhist and Pali University of Sri Lanka (2026).
Best Presenter (Finalist), ZeroPlastic National Awards (2025).
Project Excellence Award, Project Ban the Bag, ZeroPlastic National Awards (2025).
Project Excellence Award, Project Trash Talk, ZeroPlastic National Awards (2025).
Dean’s List Recognition, University of Kelaniya (2022/2023).
Dean’s List Recognition, University of Kelaniya (2020/2021).
JOURNAL ARTICLES:
JOURNAL ARTICLES:
Thirsha, A. (2024). 2023: A year in review for over-tourism. Journal of Tourism, 1, 53–60. ISSN 3051-5408 (Online).
CONFERENCES:
CONFERENCES:
Abeysekare, T., & Bogahawatta, C. (2026). Adapting to the sea: Traditional ecological knowledge of stilt fishermen in southern Sri Lanka. Asia Pacific Conference on Maritime & Underwater Cultural Heritage (APCONF-MUCH). (Forthcoming).
Abeysekare, T., & Bogahawatta, C. (2025). Advancing bicycle tourism in Polonnaruwa for a sustainable and low-carbon travel experience. 10th International Tourism Research Conference.
Abeysekare, T. (2026, January). Evaluating the effectiveness of emerging technologies in promoting cultural tourism in Sri Lanka. BPUSL Undergraduate Symposium in Archaeology 2025.
Abeysekare, T. (2026, May). The role of tourism mobile applications in promoting Sri Lanka as a tourist destination: An evaluation of their effectiveness and areas for improvement. Undergraduate Research Symposium 2026 (URCSS 2026).
Abeysekare, T. (2026). AI as an enabling layer for smart cultural tourism development: Extending Cohen’s smart dimensions for Sri Lanka. National Conference on Digital Innovation for Sustainable Cultural Tourism in Sri Lanka 2026.
Abeysekare, T., & Merinnage, M. J. U. (2026). Digital storytelling through expert-led podcasts: A novel approach for tourism promotion and visitor engagement in the Colombo National Museum. National Conference on Digital Innovation for Sustainable Cultural Tourism in Sri Lanka 2026.
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