Nexus Between Entrepreneurial Activities And Sustainable Tourism Development: A Case Of Gilgit Baltistan
Author: Sajjad Hussain

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between the entrepreneurship and sustainable tourism development, the role and perspective of tourism stakeholders i.e. entrepreneurs, local community, tourists and local authorities. This study found that enhancement of entrepreneurial culture can be a dynamic concept for a deeper comprehension of sustainable tourism development while paving the way for local economic development. This study also highlights the significance of entrepreneurial activities in developing a meaningful experience of tourism – an experience that is essential for tourist satisfaction. The study found a lack of strategic collaboration between tourism industry and major stakeholders and suggested the need to revitalize the cooperative practices important for sustainable tourism development in Gilgit Baltistan region. To measure the sustainability of tourism in Gilgit Baltistan, the report employs social, cultural and economic dimensions evaluated on five-point likert scale to convert different indicators into relatively measurable scale. The report also uses PCA analysis in order to measure the satisfaction level of stakeholder from tourism growth, development and services. A cross-sectional data for this study was collected from three districts of GB namely: Gilgit, Hunza and Nagar. Based on purposive sampling method our target audience were owners of accommodation establishment, local community, tourists and the local authorities. The major limiting factors for business owners were found to be the lack of skilled labour, lack of knowledge, lack of available funds and seasonality of the tourism industry. While, the lack of tourism infrastructure, accessibility of destinations, low standards of customer services, unregulated growth, non-involvement of local community in tourism planning and environmental concerns due to tourism activities were found to be the serious concerns for sustainability. Hence the study concluded that diversion of goals among major stakeholders has resulted into an unbalanced economic growth and unequitable employment distribution in the region. The progression of this trend can cause tourism industry to become more like a panacea for all social and economic aspects in the region. Therefore, policies in line with sustainable practices and the sense of cooperative attitude among the major stakeholders of the industry will bring off the objectives of sustainable tourism development in the region. Supervisor:- Dr. Ahsan Ul Haq Satti

Meta Data

Supervisor: Ahsan ul Haq Satti

Related Thesis​