Malraj completes his PhD in Economics on ‘Determinants of Tourism FDI’

Malraj B. Kiriella, a multi-disciplinary professional, has qualified for Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Economics from the University of Colombo. 

On the topic ‘Determinants of Tourism FDI in Sri Lanka,’ he completed his doctoral thesis at the University's Department of Economics. 

The thesis was supervised by late Dr. Saman Kelegama, former Chief Executive Officer of Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) of Sri Lanka and Prof. Athula Gnanapala, Professor in Tourism Management and Dean of Faculty of Management Studies of Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. 

Dr. Kiriella also received his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Economics from the Department of Economics at the University of Colombo. He obtained his LL.B from the Open University of Sri Lanka. He is an Attorney at Law with professional qualifications in a variety of fields, including management, marketing,  international relations, research, and tourism.

Dr. Kiriella attended Ferguson High School (Primary) Boys Section in Ratnapura, D.S. Senanyake College in Colombo 7, and S. Thomas’ College in Mount Lavinia for his school education. He has worked in both the public and private sectors and has experience in a number of fields.

The aim of his PhD research was to identify the determinants of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows to tourism sector in Sri Lanka since the post-war period in Sri Lanka, the development of tourism was planned as a key economic driver targeting high tourist inflows and revenues to the country. In order to cater to more tourists and meet these aims, the country needed more tourist services and facilities. 

FDI has been identified to fill the investment gap, as domestic investment is inadequate. In addition, tourism FDI brings advantages to the country, such as brand image, marketing and promotion, training, new technologies, centralised reservation and sales, etc. There have been very few large international investments in tourism hotel projects. In addition to the accommodation sector, the absence of FDI is demanded in a number of tourism sub-sectors namely, restaurants, transport, training, recreation and entertainment, etc. FDI inflows to Sri Lanka increased after the war, but remained relatively low and below targeted level. The research therefore examines the determinants of both demand and supply factors affecting the inflow of FDI in tourism to Sri Lanka.

The research used a 37-year time-series data to run Vector Error Correction Method (VECM) and Panel Data Models. It also includes a comparison study and an opinion questionnaire survey of key policy makers, researchers, industry leaders, current and potential tourism investors in both Sri Lanka and overseas. 

The comparison study conducted with selected seven competitive tourism destinations in the developing world namely, Fiji, Indonesia, Jamaica, Malaysia, Mauritius, Thailand and Turkey. The conditions of the 10 home countries were studied in the supply side analysis. The countries are The United States of America, The United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Japan, China, United Arab Emirates, France, India and Australia.  

The research has its originality and value due to many reasons. One is that the research was able to provide a single study integrating both the demand side and the supply side of tourism FDI in Sri Lanka. Such research, incorporating both perspectives, is hardly available in literature, and such a study is not available in Sri Lanka. 

Second, research has developed its own theoretical framework through the use of different theoretical foundations and empirical evidence, since studies of this nature are lacking. In this regard, when developing the framework, the study introduced the tourism perspective into the concepts found in general literature and revealed new insights. 

Third, it included a country-level comparative analysis of the situation of Sri Lanka's tourism FDI with seven competitive destinations (host countries) in the developing world in particular its weaknesses and opportunities. The supply side analysis included an analysis of ten current and potential tourism FDI home countries to Sri Lanka, which revealed interesting conclusions. 

Previously, no study of this nature has taken into consideration the countries selected in these two studies. Such results based on a naval analysis involving different perspectives across these countries, lead to new literature.

Full research is planned to be published as a book for the use of policy makers, practitioners, researchers and interested parties.