Understanding Economic, Social and Environmental Impacts of AT, In the case of Pokhara

STAKEHOLDERS PERSPECTIVE TOWARDS ADVENTURE TOURISM (AT) DEVELOPMENT AND THEIR ROLE IN IT

Khatri, Anu ; Panday, Kopila Pudasaini

4. term

Tourism, Master

2021

131

This thesis examines the economic, social, and environmental impacts of adventure tourism in Pokhara, Nepal, focusing on stakeholder perspectives, their roles in development, and how collaboration shapes decision-making and impact management. Using a qualitative case study, the authors conducted semi-structured online interviews with government officials, tour operators, café and hotel owners, and local residents to understand how stakeholders view Pokhara as an adventure destination and participate in development processes, including power dynamics. Findings indicate that Pokhara is widely considered suitable for adventure tourism due to existing infrastructure; economic and social impacts include both benefits and drawbacks but overall support local development, while environmental impacts are more uneven and often not sustainably managed, with negative effects tending to outweigh positives. The study underscores that effective stakeholder collaboration is crucial to address conflicts and foster more sustainable adventure tourism development in Pokhara.

Denne afhandling undersøger eventyrturismens økonomiske, sociale og miljømæssige påvirkninger i Pokhara, Nepal, med fokus på interessenters perspektiver, deres roller i udviklingen og samarbejdsprocesser. Med en kvalitativ casestudietilgang gennemførte forfatterne semistrukturerede interviews via online platforme med bl.a. embedsmænd, turoperatører, café- og hotelindehavere samt lokale borgere for at belyse, hvordan aktører opfatter Pokhara som eventyrdestination, og hvordan de deltager i beslutningstagning, håndtering af impacts og magtforhold. Resultaterne peger på, at Pokhara opfattes som ideel til eventyrturisme takket være eksisterende infrastruktur, at de økonomiske og sociale effekter rummer både fordele og ulemper men samlet set bidrager positivt til lokal udvikling, mens de miljømæssige effekter er mere ubalancerede og ofte ikke bæredygtigt forankrede, så de negative konsekvenser kan overstige de positive. Afhandlingen fremhæver, at velfungerende samarbejde mellem interessenter er centralt for at adressere konflikter og sikre mere bæredygtig udvikling af eventyrturismen i Pokhara.

[This apstract has been generated with the help of AI directly from the project full text]

Adventure Tourism ; Local development ; Stakeholders ; Pokhara ; Tourism Impacts

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Panday, Kopila Pudasaini:

• Semester Project on How does tourism impact local Tharu community?: What are the challenges for local Tharu community to achieve sustainable goals? (2018)