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Towards the Development of Sustainable Tourism in Pakistan: A Study of the Role of Tour Operators

Author

Listed:
  • Zia Ullah

    (Faculty of Business Administration, Lahore Leads University, Lahore 54000, Pakistan)

  • Rana Tahir Naveed

    (Department of Economics and Business Administration, Art and Social Sciences Division, University of Education, Lahore 54000, Pakistan)

  • Atta Ur Rehman

    (SME Development Specialist, International Trade Center, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan)

  • Naveed Ahmad

    (Faculty of Management Studies, University of Central Punjab, Lahore 54000, Pakistan)

  • Miklas Scholz

    (Division of Water Resources Engineering, Department of Building and Environmental Technology, Faculty of Engineering, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, 221 00 Lund, Sweden
    Civil Engineering Research Group, School of Science, Engineering and Environment, The University of Salford, Newton Building, Salford M5 4WT, UK
    Department of Town Planning, Engineering Networks and Systems, South Ural State University (National Research University), 76, Lenin Prospekt, 454080 Chelyabinsk, Russia)

  • Mohammad Adnan

    (SBS, Swiss Business School, 8152 Kloten, Switzerland)

  • Heesup Han

    (College of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Sejong University, 98 Gunja-Dong, Gwanjin-Gu, Seoul 143-747, Korea)

Abstract

The literature on sustainable tourism is scant, particularly in the least developed countries. Very few studies touch upon the concept and no holistic theoretical or conceptual frameworks around the idea of sustainable tourism have been formulated. This study aims at exploring the role of tour operators in developing sustainable tourism in Pakistan and how the tour operators (TOs) conceive their role in this regard. TOs were reached through phone calls, emails, and virtual sources as face-to-face interviews were not possible due to COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions on travel by the government. In-depth interviews were conducted to gather data. Results suggest that the TOs although realize the importance of social, environmental, and economic dimensions of tourism on the communities but have no management systems in place to cater accordingly. There are no incentives in place by the government facilitate TOs to design and implement such systems. The TOs do not select a destination based on Global Sustainable Tourism Council criterion, but rather the selection of destination is mostly demand-based and profit-oriented. The study suggests that corporate profit motive is the sole criterion for decision making and is one of the major causes impeding sustainable tourism in Pakistan. The role of TOs in developing sustainable tourism is vague as the TOs do not have any systems in place to implement sustainable models. The study recommends that efforts need to be put in place to incentivize sustainable tourism in Pakistan and proper laws should be set forth by the authorities to comply by the TOs. The role of TOs is important and understood, however, there is a need to put proper systems in place.

Suggested Citation

  • Zia Ullah & Rana Tahir Naveed & Atta Ur Rehman & Naveed Ahmad & Miklas Scholz & Mohammad Adnan & Heesup Han, 2021. "Towards the Development of Sustainable Tourism in Pakistan: A Study of the Role of Tour Operators," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-17, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:9:p:4902-:d:544394
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