Transport Infrastructure and Social Inclusion: A Case Study of Tourism in the Region of Gilgit-Baltistan

Asif Hussain,David Fisher,Stephen Espiner

doi:10.17645/si.v5i4.1084

Abstract

Until the building of the Karakorum Highway (1958–78), the region of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan, was extremely isolated, thus preserving distinct cultural traits. The few tourists accessing the area were primarily experienced mountaineers. The highway was established to provide a land link with China, principally as a result of turbulent geo-political rivalry. Once built, however, the road created a connexion to the outside world and allowed for many more visitors to the region. Whilst the road was not built with tourism in mind, it allowed easier access for tourists and necessitated the development of a service sector to provide for those using the road. As a consequence, a once subsistence and self-reliant economy became monetised, and modern consumer goods were introduced to the region. Increased access and mobility has facilitated change in the Gilgit-Baltistan, contributing to a degree of social inclusion not previously possible. Whilst there are multiple drivers of change observed here, tourism has provided an important means by which some of the more profound changes have occurred. Local people have adapted their livelihoods to the new, monetary economy resulting in a decline in traditional agricultural practices. More importantly, however, tourism has enabled the outside world to enter into the consciousness of local people. Visitors have become conduits of change and the world is now viewed via technologies made possible by the spoils of tourism. The road has also allowed for much easier movement of local people out of and back to Gilgit-Baltistan, thereby facilitating increased social inclusion with the wider world.

Highlights

With the growth of technology and increased levels of wealth, social systems have become more open
Adopting an entirely qualitative approach, this study explores the changes that have occurred in selected communities in Gilgit-Baltistan, a once isolated area that was afforded much easier access to the outside world by the building of a highway, opened in 1978
This section explains the status of social inclusion in Gilgit-Baltistan, using factors introduced by Kenyon et al (2002), before and after transport infrastructure development

Summary

Introduction

With the growth of technology and increased levels of wealth, social systems have become more open. It was relatively uncommon for people to move far from where they lived. Industrialisation resulted in urban drift and people became more integrated into monetary economies (Hussain, 2017). In some parts of the world, the opportunity to move elsewhere was restricted by physical geography. Despite a wide variety of social structures, isolated groups relied on all the inhabitants. Social Inclusion, 2017, Volume 5, Issue 4, Pages 196–208 for survival. Even someone at the bottom of the social hierarchy had a function that helped the community to maintain itself. Most members of such societies were excluded from participating in the world beyond the immediate environs

Methods

Results

Conclusion