Abstract
Cultural tourism is one of the earliest and significant motivation of the tourists. Every year thousands of tourists visit places of cultural attractions across the globe to satisfy their varying needs. Fortunately, Pakistan is among the countries blessed with rich and diverse cultures (both tangible and intangible) with a great potential to attract tourists from all over the world. Apart from the cultural resources, the country also has abundant natural destinations including lush green valleys with natural lakes and rivers, surrounded by mountains presenting panoramic views, desert, beaches and natural landscapes with unique species of birds, animals and plants. Kaghan valley, located in district Mansehra of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is one of the valleys with abundant cultural and natural resources. The valley, due to its pleasant weather attracts thousands of tourists from different parts of Pakistan and around the world during the summer (i.e. June-September). But, the potential of cultural tourism in the valley has not yet been identified and promoted to keep the flow of the tourists during the rest of the seasons. If proper measures be taken, the valley may attract a large number of cultural tourists and contribute to empower the community as well as to strengthen the GDP of the country. The current study aims to highlight the potential of cultural tourism; identify major problems and to suggest measures for the promotion of sustainable cultural tourism in the valley. Keywords: Cultural Tourism, Kaghan Valley, Mansehra, Folklores, Legends
Highlights
United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) defines cultural tourism as, “it is a type of tourism activity in which the visitor’s essential motivation is to learn, discover, experience and
Very limited research has been conducted on the Tourism of Kaghan Valley
The current study is an attempt to document the living cultural resources of the valley i.e., potential, and highlight the problems associated with cultural heritage and to propose suggestions to relevant authorities for the development of sustainable tourism in the valley
Summary
Kaghan valley is famous for its extraordinary landscape, exclusive cultures and unique traditions. There are number of cultural industries in the form of tangible and intangible heritage; like traditional architecture, arts and crafts, food and gastronomy, customs and traditions, events and festivals, folklores and legends, traditional games and entertainments. All these cultural elements are not properly organized and managed for the tourists. Most of the previous studies were undertaken to document the natural and cultural heritage of the valley (Gazetteer of the Hazara District 1883-4; Aziz, 1998; Rasheed, 2009; Ali, 2007; Ali et al, 2011; Khan, 2011; Shah, 2017) These previous studies are not comprehensive, and merely fulfill some basic requirements of the visitors. The current study is an attempt to document the living cultural resources of the valley i.e., potential (both tangible and intangible), and highlight the problems associated with cultural heritage and to propose suggestions to relevant authorities for the development of sustainable tourism in the valley
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