The impact of tourism on local communities and their environment in Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan: a local community perspective

Abstract

A BS TR A CTThe northern area of Pakistan, Gilgit Baltistan (GB), has huge tourist potential due to its exotic mountain beauty. According to the GB Tourism Department, a large number of tourists (around 200651) visit GB every year from across the country. Due to a large influx of tourists in the area both positive and negative impacts have been felt especially on the environment and on the local communities. The environmental impacts of tourism were investigated in this research in two districts of GB. Three villages were selected from each of the districts of Hunza and Diamer as the basis of this research. This study was based on the perceptions and attitudes of the respondents. The total number of questionnaires completed was 340 filled from different respondent categories. Results showed that deforestation, loss of biodiversity, generation of solid waste, water, air and noise pollution, damage cultural and heritage sites and are the main environmental issues caused by tourism activities in the villages in these districts. About 42% of respondents said that deforestation and loss of biodiversity were high in the Diamer district while in Hunza 39% of respondents said that solid waste generation was high. Similarly, 21% respondents in Hunza and 14% respondents in Diamer agreed that water pollution is caused by tourism activities. Microbial analysis of water confirmed the presence of Salmonella typhi, E. coli and Enterobacter sp. There were positive impacts of tourism with results revealing that 87% of villagers and 98% of businessmen responded that tourism had provided them with jobs and business during the peak tourism season. Hotels and restaurants are the main source of jobs in GB mainly as porters and guides. According to the data collected dry fruits, medicinal herbs, gemstones and handicrafts provided considerable attractions for tourists. It is recommended that a combined effort be made by the local communities, tourism departments and other Govt. Agencies to ensure the cleanliness of tourist attractions. KEY WORDS: tourism; water pollution; air and noise pollution; health, solid waste generation; cultural and heritage damage ARTICLE HISTORY:

Evaluation of Barriers to Gilgit Baltistan's Travel & Tourism Industry: Pakistani Youth's Perception

“…The promotion of domestic tourism was due to the new publishing reports, sharing scenic pictures on social media and print media.as statistical report by Pakistan Association of Tourism, before the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the US in September 2001, more than 20,000 foreign tourists used to visit Gilgit-Baltistan each year. The number of visitors decreased more than fivefold in 2002 following the 9/11 terrorist attack event in USA (Saqib et al, 2019).…”

“…Most of the previous researches presented the potential for tourism, sustainable development and a list of leading challenges to the way of GB's travel & tourism growth by sharing their self-traveling experience and collecting local's opinions mainly including transportation problems, lack of hoteling, natural risk, lack of connectivity between valleys, lack of tourism planning, lack of medical facilities (Nation, 2020;Hussain, 2021a;Qureshi, 2013). Saqib et al (2019) explored the impact of tourism on GB, through interviews and personal observation of local residents and tourists.…”

Solid wastes generation and its management in tourist destinations of Sri Lanka

“…The primary solid waste materials generated in the tourism industry are water bottles, containers for juices and other beverages, plastic bags, food waste from restaurants, diapers, disposable plates, spoons, etc. (27). The majority of tourists carry polythene bags and plastic bottles during their visits which cause severe environmental issues.…”

Residents’ Perception of Impact of Mass Tourism on Mountain Environment in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan

“…An increase in tourism flow is considered blessings in shaping positive economic outcomes especially in the gross domestic product (GDP) and employment opportunities (Manzoor et al, 2019), while on the other hand uncontrolled conventional tourism possess threats to the natural areas increasing pollution, soil erosion, solid waste, habitat loss and increased pressure on the endangered species and biodiversity (Goossling, 2002;Sunlu, 2003) and socio-cultural environment. According to a study, deforestation, loss of biodiversity, generation of solid waste, water, air, and noise pollution, damage to cultural and heritage sites are the main environmental issues caused by tourism activities in Gilgit-Baltistan (Saqib et al, 2019).…”