Objectives

Community Identification and Interaction

Mosafir Social aims to build community linkages among specified communities at various tourist destinations in Pakistan. Mosafir Social engaged these host communities in various developmental initiatives such as capacity building sessions, tourism problems identification and working on short term and long-term sustainable solutions. Mosafir Social seeks input from renowned international organizations working on environment, eco-tourism, sustainable tourism and social uplift. Organized community groups are called Mosafir Social committees.

Problems and Needs assessments

Pakistan's tourism industry is expanding. Improved accessibility to places with increased security has resulted in an extraordinary migration of visitors from southern and central Pakistan to northern areas each year. International travelers recently named Pakistan one of the finest adventure tourism locations. Many of these changes have occurred in the recent decade, putting massive strain on the local environment, ecosystems, and communities. Assessments are carried out in collaboration with host communities to address these common challenges and demands. Based on the findings of these studies, Mosafir Social creates creative and long-term solutions to observed challenges, with a focus on eco-tourism.

Stakeholders

Mosafir Social believes in close collaboration with its primary and secondary stakeholders and will continue to reach out to and collaborate with them for the benefit of the tourist sector. Mosafir Social's notable stakeholders include the government, tourism organisations, non-governmental organisations, and communities. Mosafir Social has already connected with a large number of tourists via its app and other services.

Awareness raising

Mosafir Social conducts comprehensive awareness campaigns among its subscribers, app users, and community members on a regular basis. This campaign includes messages based on environmentally friendly tourism practices, promotion of eco-tourism, ensuring inclusive practices during travel and at destination, ethical approaches towards local culture and traditions etc. Mosafir Social is expecting to reach about 1.3 million subscribers and users of Mosafir app in the year 2022 – 23 through SMS, VMS, Web and Mosafir app.

Partnerships

Mosafir Social has established partnerships with international donor agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to carry out projects that will improve the host community's knowledge, attitude, and practices, their livelihoods, the destination's ecology and environment, tourism practices, and the promotion of good strategies. Mosafir Social also collaborated with local NGOs working on environmental sustainability to learn from their experiences. Mosafir Social also intends to secure developmental grants to support sustainable development in tourism destinations.

Interventions

Mosafir Social’s developmental work with host community includes:

Field Research & Assessments

• Publication of travel guides & maps: One of the aims of Mosafir Social is to make travel and tourism inclusive for all. To achieve this, maps and other assistance materials are published in different languages so that the language barrier is eliminated during the use of maps and guides.
• Risk assessments: Communities are engaged in identification of hazards and vulnerabilities in order to complete risk assessments of their respective areas. This information is then compiled in the form of risk assessment reports. These reports inform users about possible natural threats that might result in disruption of normal life and therefore can harm tourism and tourists. On the basis of risk assessments host communities keep tourists informed and it also helps in land use planning, which in itself is a mean for sustainable tourism.
• Integration of tourism information websites Mosafir Social is working to develop single centralized websites in different regions. These regions include Gilgit Baltistan, Malakand Agency, and newly merged districts of KP. These websites serve as a complete guide for tourists in terms of information on planning, destinations, hotels, transport, tour guides, security, and weather etc. For this, Mosafir Social is in coordination with provincial and regional tourism authorities.
• Need / Damages assessments: Community is trained to conduct damages and needs assessments in times of disasters. This is to immediately plan and cater for the needs of trapped tourists with dignity and honor.

Capacity Building

• Awareness Raising Campaigns: One of the most important donors funded activities by Mosafir Social is capacity building of its stakeholders especially host communities and subscribers of the app. World’s renowned organizations working on environment and tourism have been taken on board as partners to design smart messages that are easily understandable and equally effective. These messages cover various facets of tourism such as tourism’s effects on the environment and ecology, the importance of eco-tourism, pollution and its negative impact on tourism etc.
• Skills Development Mosafir Social emphasizes livelihood diversification among vulnerable members of host community. For this skills development and diversification, programs have been designed. This also contributes to Mosafir Social climate adaptation strategy.
• Tour Guide Trainings Mosafir Social's short-term goals include the implementation of basic tour guide training programs at tourism destinations. These training sessions are being completed with the participation of both men and women. These training classes cover themes such as eco-tourism introduction, tourist risks, team building and leadership abilities, communications and languages, logistics, emergency management, and first aid.
• Promotions of Eco & Sustainable Tourism Primary stakeholders such as host community members, tour guides and those involved in day-to-day businesses at destinations receive capacity building sessions in topics such as sustainable tourism measures, going green, reduction of carbon footprint, community-based initiatives for tourism, taking care of local norm, traditions and heritage, use of reusable bags etc.

Community Based Disaster Risk Management

• Community based emergency management planning: Emergency management practices and planning have always remained a weak link in Pakistan’s development process and policies. Similarly, the tourism sector also lacks incorporation of emergency management practices both at the authorities’ and tourist level. Therefore, loss of life and assets as a result of emergency situations is quite often. To tackle the issue, Mosafir Social initiated community-based emergency management planning with its Mosafir Social committees. Committees are also being equipped with the necessary tools, equipment and outfits to perform optimally.
• Community based early warning system: Mosafir Social committees are linked with Mosafir app in order to keep users/tourists updated of latest developments in relation with the weather and other events especially during rainy and snowy season, so that the users amend and update their plans accordingly and avoid trouble.
• Emergency response: Mosafir Social keeps its Mosafir Committees active to respond to any emergency in the tourism sector in a timely and professional manner. Committees receive emergency response training and equipment with assistance from national and international donors. These trainings include sessions on search, rescue, firefighting, evacuation, coordination and emergency communication.
• Basic Life support skills: Mosafir Committees are regularly trained in basic life support skills such as casualty handling, CPR, bandages and trauma management.

Structural Measures

• Plantations / Forestation: Forests often suffer negative impacts of tourism in the form of deforestation caused by fuel wood collection and land clearing. Tourist destinations of Pakistan especially northern areas, Hazara region and newly merged districts in KP are all facing increased deforestation due to lack of knowledge and awareness. To tackle the problem, Mosafir Social keeps partnering with relevant agencies including forest and environmental departments. The aim is to minimize the negative impacts of tourism on forests by mobilizing both the host communities and tourists to participate in forestation campaigns. Currently Mosafir Social has identified the areas where relative interventions are needed.
• Sign Boards installation: As part of its efforts to make travel and tourism inclusive, Mosafir Social installs sign boards at tourist destinations hotspots. These signboards assist tourists in two ways i.e., Identification of inclusive facilities and Spread of information in other languages (English, Urdu etc.). This will help local tourism structure in reducing social barriers.
• Accessible restrooms: Mosafir Social plans to construct at least two (2) accessible restrooms per tourist destination. Designs for these restrooms will be finalized with the assistance of expert organizations in the field. These restrooms will better accommodate people with physical disabilities, people with reduced mobility and people with other weaknesses.

Areas of intervention

• District Chitral
• District Hunza
• District Skardu
• District Ghizar
• District Astore
• District Mansehra
• District Abbottabad
• District Swat
• Newly merged districts in KP

Tourism and SDGs

As one of the fastest growing economic sectors in the world, tourism is increasingly recognized as a vital contributor to job and wealth creation, economic growth, environmental protection and poverty alleviation.

Sustainable Tourism Principles

Principles of Sustainable Tourism

Tourism Concern, 1991 in association with the Worldwide Fund for Nature(WWF) gives 10 principles for sustainable tourism. These are following as:

• Using resources sustainably: The conservation and sustainable use of resources- natural, social and cultural – is crucial and makes long-term business sense.
• Reducing over-consumption and waste: Reduction of over-consumption and waste avoids the costs of restoring long-term environmental damage and contributes to the quality of tourism.
• Maintaining biodiversity: Maintaining and promoting natural, social and cultural diversity is essential for long-term sustainable tourism and creates a resilient base for the industry.
• Integrating tourism into planning: Tourism development which is integrated into a national and local strategic planning framework and which undertake environmental impact assessments increases the long-term viability of tourism.
• Supporting local economies. Tourism that supports a wide range of local economic activities and which takes environmental costs and values into account, both protects these economies and avoids environmental damage.
• Involving local communities: The full involvement of local communities in the tourism sector not only benefits them and the environment in general but also improves the quality of the tourism experience.
• Consulting stakeholders and the public: Consulting between the tourism industry and local communities, organizations and institutions are essential if they are to work alongside each other and resolve potential conflicts of interest.
• Training staff: Staff training which integrates sustainable tourism into work practices, along with recruitment of personnel at all levels, improves the quality of the tourism product.
• Marketing tourism responsibly: Marketing that provides tourists with the full and responsible information increases respect for the natural, social and cultural environments of destination areas and enhances customer satisfaction.
• Undertaking research: Ongoing research and monitoring by the industry using effective data collection and analysis are essential to help solve problems and to bring benefits to destinations, the industry, and consumers.

Partners and Actions

• Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund: Mosafir Social signed a general MoU with Pakistan’s leading donor agency and apex organization for poverty reduction through micro-finance and small businesses Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund. Under this partnership, Mosafir Social has helped PPAF in the design and dissemination of IEC text messages in the context of floods in 2022. Mosafir and PPAF also envision implementing projects based on the integration of sustainable tourism with micro-entrepreneurship in the near future.
  Social also helped both PPAF and Mosafir in designing and disseminating artworks specially created for increased visibility of PPAF’s flood response with PPAF account details for potential donors to donate to the PPAF flood response fund.
• Aga Khan Agency for Habitat: Mosafir Social with its partners Weatherwalay joined hands with Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (Aga Khan Development Network’s agency that specializes in working in the fields of community-based disaster risk reduction and management) for a two-prong strategy to bring resilience into tourism that takes place in GB. For the pilot phase Gilgit, Skardu, and Hunza have been selected in a mutual agreement where Weatherwalay will install Automated Weather Stations (AWS). These weather stations help its users (communities) in keeping an eye on changing weather and shall be issuing early warnings in case any adverse weather event is anticipated. On the other hand, Mosafir Social will be organizing training sessions with already trained emergency response teams in the fields of sustainable tourism practices. Mosafir Social also envisions the implementation of small businesses and entrepreneurship models based on the Mosafir business model to promote tourism activities in GB, help vulnerable households in income generation, and therefore enhance the resilience of the community.
• Karakoram International University Gilgit Baltistan (KIU): One of the most valuable and strategic partnerships of Mosafir Social has recently been completed with Karakoram International University Gilgit Baltistan. VC KIU Mr. Attaullah Shah visited Jazz Mosafir office for MOU signing ceremony and emphasized the need of public private partnership for community development. Both Jazz Mosafir and KIU agreed upon the use of digitalization to change the lives of youth of Gilgit Baltistan.
  Both organizations have agreed to assist each other in organizing events for the promotion of eco-tourism and sustainable tourism. As part of this Mosafir will assist KIU in organizing the second IC-METH at Hunza in spring 2023.
  Similarly, tourism management and hospitality capacity building of youth at the grass root level of Gilgit Baltistan shall also take place under this partnership. Development of selected graduates of KIU in the areas of Marketing, Sales, IT, Product Development and Social Responsibility is another key area agreed under the current partnership.
• Network of Community representatives: Mosafir Social has successfully established a network of seasoned and experienced community volunteers who now represent Mosafir at the grassroots level. They work as implementers of Mosafir and Social's vision for sustainable tourism through a variety of activities including environmental uplifting, awareness raising, revenue generation, and emergency response in the context of tourism, but not limited to these. Teams are currently functioning in the following districts:
• Gilgit
• Hunza
• Skardu
• Nagar
• Ghizer
• Kharmang
• Shigar