The Kaghan Valley in the Mansehra district of Pakistan is home to some of the country’s most beautiful natural resources. Cooler in the summer than the lowlands and containing more than a dozen lakes and multiple rivers, the Kaghan Valley offers tourists a wide variety of activities during the summer months. Though the area was badly hit by the 2005 earthquake, the tourism industry is poised for rebirth. Through the Improving Livelihoods and Enterprise Development Program (I-LED), CNFA is working with local tourism enterprises to boost local capacities and bring more tourist dollars to the region.
CNFA is applying a value chain methodology to bettering tourism in the Kaghan Valley. Beginning with an assessment of the entire regional industry and identifying key weaknesses, I-LED identified key constraints and is addressing them.
Building the Kaghan Hospitality Industry
CNFA is working with individual enterprises to help them rebuild, expand and maximize profits. For instance, I-LED has provided more than 30 grants to local hotels, restaurants and smaller enterprises catering to tourists to add and improve products and services. These businesses will not only bring more income to their owners, but will also provide jobs to dozens of people. To improve the services of the hospitality sector, I-LED trained 100 people in front office management, cooking, housekeeping, and food and beverages services.
Adventure Tourism and Activities
One niche business I-LED has worked with is Adventure Foundation Pakistan (AFP) to promote river rafting tours. Through CNFA grants, AFP was able to purchase three rafts and begin the region’s first river rafting business. In just the first three weeks, 200 tourists enjoyed rafting in Naran, generating more than $1,400 in new sales revenue. The enterprise should generate an annual profit of $12,000 and will provide employment for 10 people. More importantly, perhaps, the venture will open new avenues for adventure tourism in Pakistan, and will also help promote domestic and foreign tourism in the region, adding significant value to the regional economy by attracting more tourists.
Cooperative & Industry Development
Along with working with individual businesses, CNFA is also working to strengthen the regional tourism industry as a whole, helping to launch the Tourism Promotion Association of Kaghan (TPAK), which will further expand and modernize the region’s tourism industry, protect the natural resources of Kaghan, and create employment for local citizens. T-PAK organized the first-ever National Tourism Conference on the Promotion of Sustainable Tourism in Kaghan Valley. More than 200 delegates from all over Pakistan attended the conference to begin developing an action plan for the sustainable growth of tourism industry in Kaghan valley.
Click here for more information about CNFA’s USAID-funded Improving Livelihoods and Enterprise Development Program in Pakistan.
