| Peer-Reviewed

Ecotourism Potential in Gilgit-Baltistan (A Case Study of Khunjerab National Park)

Received: 28 October 2015     Accepted: 4 November 2015     Published: 7 December 2015
Views:       Downloads:
Abstract

The Khunjerab National Park (KNP) which is one of the highest Parks in the world existing above 4000 meters. A random sampling technique was applied to select respondents. The total sample drawn was 28. A structured questionnaire was used in face to face interviews to collect data. Basically, interviewees included three different groups of stakeholders: KNP management, village committee members, and tourists. Different tourism- related questions were designed for different types of targeted groups, but they generally revolved around ecotourism planning, management issues, and the impacts of the ecotourism project. The statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS 18. The results showed male respondent were dominated i.e. 86% and female were 14%. The majority of the respondents were having diverse occupation categories as 25% of them were each government/semi government and private sectors followed by 21% each from student and business category, and finally 4% each from house wife and retired persons from government and private. 100% of the respondents were literate. Most respondent were well awared about the eco tourism and minimal impacts on the environment. Majority of the tourist confirmed that they like ecotourism, only 5% were not sure. The ecotourism may be enhanced in KNP by importance were destination and facilities (32% each) popularity (18%), price (11%) and referrals 7% respectively. Ecotourism is greatly affected by its destination and facilities. An average of about Rs 2000 per day is spent to visit KNP. This will provide an opportunity of employment for local people

Published in American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry (Volume 3, Issue 6)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajaf.20150306.12
Page(s) 253-259
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2015. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

KNP, Ecotourism, Benefits, Environment, Income

References
[1] Agha IH. 2002. Ecotourism in Pakistan. A Myth Volume. 22, 110-112.
[2] Agha IH. 2005. Does Reality Substantiates the Myth of Integrated Tourism. Sustainability Environmental Management and Ecotourism in Pakistan.
[3] Ahmed B. 2003. Sustainable Tourism and Cultural Heritage; Northern Areas Strategy for Sustainable Development: (background paper).
[4] Christina A. 1996. Parrot Conservation and Ecotourism in Windward Island Journal Biogeography. 23(3): 5-12.
[5] Crispin TGC, Flowman T. 1994. Defining the Ecotourism. Diversity of Nature, 2; 31.
[6] Hussain SA. 2006. The Daily Dawn, (February 20-26 2006) a Report; on “Promoting Tourism” p. 4.
[7] IUCN. 2003. State of Environment and Development, Tourism Assets in Northern Areas, Hamdard Press Karachi, pp.118-128.
[8] John N, Shores. 1999. Sustainable Tourism Development Specialist, San Jose, California USA.
[9] Lindberg BM, Furze, Black R. 1997. Ecotourism in the Asia Pacific Region; Issues and Outlook (bennington, VT; the Ecotourism Society, 1997). pp. 101-105.
[10] Mc Micheal P. 1996. Development and Social Change. Thousand Oak, CA: Sage.
[11] Mowforth, Munt.1998. Sustainability indicators for managing community tourism. Science Direct.
[12] Nadeem I. 2001. Suggestion/Recommendation for Tourism Promotion in Northern Areas of Pakistan. Tourism Report, p.16.
[13] Smith A, Eadington W. 1994. Tourism Alternatives. Potentials and Problems in the development of tourism. Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvannia Press.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Syed Naeem Abbas, Mujeeb Sardar, Mamoona Wali Muhammad, Yawar Abbas, Rizwan Karim, et al. (2015). Ecotourism Potential in Gilgit-Baltistan (A Case Study of Khunjerab National Park). American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry, 3(6), 253-259. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajaf.20150306.12

    Copy | Download

    ACS Style

    Syed Naeem Abbas; Mujeeb Sardar; Mamoona Wali Muhammad; Yawar Abbas; Rizwan Karim, et al. Ecotourism Potential in Gilgit-Baltistan (A Case Study of Khunjerab National Park). Am. J. Agric. For. 2015, 3(6), 253-259. doi: 10.11648/j.ajaf.20150306.12

    Copy | Download

    AMA Style

    Syed Naeem Abbas, Mujeeb Sardar, Mamoona Wali Muhammad, Yawar Abbas, Rizwan Karim, et al. Ecotourism Potential in Gilgit-Baltistan (A Case Study of Khunjerab National Park). Am J Agric For. 2015;3(6):253-259. doi: 10.11648/j.ajaf.20150306.12

    Copy | Download

  • @article{10.11648/j.ajaf.20150306.12,
      author = {Syed Naeem Abbas and Mujeeb Sardar and Mamoona Wali Muhammad and Yawar Abbas and Rizwan Karim and Nawazish Ali and Saeed Abbas and Syed Ali Haider},
      title = {Ecotourism Potential in Gilgit-Baltistan (A Case Study of Khunjerab National Park)},
      journal = {American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry},
      volume = {3},
      number = {6},
      pages = {253-259},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajaf.20150306.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajaf.20150306.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajaf.20150306.12},
      abstract = {The Khunjerab National Park (KNP) which is one of the highest Parks in the world existing above 4000 meters. A random sampling technique was applied to select respondents. The total sample drawn was 28. A structured questionnaire was used in face to face interviews to collect data. Basically, interviewees included three different groups of stakeholders: KNP management, village committee members, and tourists. Different tourism- related questions were designed for different types of targeted groups, but they generally revolved around ecotourism planning, management issues, and the impacts of the ecotourism project. The statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS 18. The results showed male respondent were dominated i.e. 86% and female were 14%. The majority of the respondents were having diverse occupation categories as 25% of them were each government/semi government and private sectors followed by 21% each from student and business category, and finally 4% each from house wife and retired persons from government and private. 100% of the respondents were literate. Most respondent were well awared about the eco tourism and minimal impacts on the environment. Majority of the tourist confirmed that they like ecotourism, only 5% were not sure. The ecotourism may be enhanced in KNP by importance were destination and facilities (32% each) popularity (18%), price (11%) and referrals 7% respectively. Ecotourism is greatly affected by its destination and facilities. An average of about Rs 2000 per day is spent to visit KNP. This will provide an opportunity of employment for local people},
     year = {2015}
    }
    

    Copy | Download

  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Ecotourism Potential in Gilgit-Baltistan (A Case Study of Khunjerab National Park)
    AU  - Syed Naeem Abbas
    AU  - Mujeeb Sardar
    AU  - Mamoona Wali Muhammad
    AU  - Yawar Abbas
    AU  - Rizwan Karim
    AU  - Nawazish Ali
    AU  - Saeed Abbas
    AU  - Syed Ali Haider
    Y1  - 2015/12/07
    PY  - 2015
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajaf.20150306.12
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajaf.20150306.12
    T2  - American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry
    JF  - American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry
    JO  - American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry
    SP  - 253
    EP  - 259
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2330-8591
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajaf.20150306.12
    AB  - The Khunjerab National Park (KNP) which is one of the highest Parks in the world existing above 4000 meters. A random sampling technique was applied to select respondents. The total sample drawn was 28. A structured questionnaire was used in face to face interviews to collect data. Basically, interviewees included three different groups of stakeholders: KNP management, village committee members, and tourists. Different tourism- related questions were designed for different types of targeted groups, but they generally revolved around ecotourism planning, management issues, and the impacts of the ecotourism project. The statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS 18. The results showed male respondent were dominated i.e. 86% and female were 14%. The majority of the respondents were having diverse occupation categories as 25% of them were each government/semi government and private sectors followed by 21% each from student and business category, and finally 4% each from house wife and retired persons from government and private. 100% of the respondents were literate. Most respondent were well awared about the eco tourism and minimal impacts on the environment. Majority of the tourist confirmed that they like ecotourism, only 5% were not sure. The ecotourism may be enhanced in KNP by importance were destination and facilities (32% each) popularity (18%), price (11%) and referrals 7% respectively. Ecotourism is greatly affected by its destination and facilities. An average of about Rs 2000 per day is spent to visit KNP. This will provide an opportunity of employment for local people
    VL  - 3
    IS  - 6
    ER  - 

    Copy | Download

Author Information
  • Forest Education Division Pakistan, Forest Institute, Peshawar, Pakistan

  • Forest Education Division Pakistan, Forest Institute, Peshawar, Pakistan

  • Forest Education Division Pakistan, Forest Institute, Peshawar, Pakistan

  • Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Bahria University, Islamabad, Pakistan

  • Department of Forestry and Range Management, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan

  • Department of Agriculture and Food Technology, Karakoram International University, Gilgit, Pakistan

  • World Wide Fund for Nature-Pakistan, GCIC, NLI Colony Gilgit, Pakistan

  • Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Bahria University, Islamabad, Pakistan

  • Sections