Adventure Tourism in Gilgit Baltistan Region: Opportunities, Trends and Destinations

Abstract

This research analyzes the pattern of adventure tourism trend temporally in Gilgit Baltistan for the last decade. The north most, mountain locked region of Pakistan, Gilgit Baltistan is known for multiple adventure tourism destinations within and outside the country. Due to peculiar mountainous land cover, as well as naturally bestowed opportunities of trekking and expedition through eight thousanders (peaks), base camps, elevated surfaces, mighty glaciers and narrow passes both the international and domestic adventure tourists visit the region both individually and in form of groups or parties. The opportunities and trend of adventure tourism is specified in a mix nature of qualitative and quantitative approaches for the current research. In both approaches, the type of data source accessed and analyzed is secondary as the acquisition of adventure tourists data is accomplished through concerned government departments of Gilgit Baltistan region. Results show that the trend of trekking parties is decreasing while the expedition parties’ trend is increasing and positive in the region.