1. Introduction
In recent years, tourism has gained increasing popularity, and currently it is one of the most important industries in several developing countries [
1,
2,
3,
4]. Many scholars have investigated and published relevant literature on the subject of sustainable tourism developments and host residents’ behaviors and supportive attitudes in developing tourism in the modern era [
2,
5,
6]. Moreover, several authors have investigated this subject, and a considerable number of studies have examined, modeled, and measured the effect of sustainable tourism development on the host residents’ perceived impacts, perceptions, attitude, and behavior in supporting further sustainable tourism development [
3,
7,
8]. Butler (2006) described the indispensable role that residents and their perceptions play in understanding the development mechanism and process of sustainable tourism [
9,
10]. Residents mostly point to the influence of sustainable tourism on their individual and communal living conditions [
10,
11]. Though sustainable tourism development appears to be profitable, its environmental impact and the socio-cultural perceptions of local inhabitants may refocus judgments on other issues [
12]. Butler and various scholars have evaluated the relationship between the various processes of sustainable tourism development. Residents’ reactions from different perspectives and these assessments emphasize adverse impacts, such as cultural corruption and capacity problems derived from cross-border movements [
13,
14,
15,
16]. Tourism development is considered to be a rural development mechanism concerning culture, communities’ attitude, and socioeconomic contributions, generating rural income and employment opportunities, contributing to residents’ services and amenities, and supporting the conservation of cultural resources [
17].
All over the world, local societies, villages, and rural economies, whether in developing countries or the First World, have faced significant challenges and changes [
18]. Sustainable incomes empower community development and culture and support community development at the grassroots level rather than just focusing on policy. New approaches to community development began between 1950 and 1970; however, there was no actual transfer of powers or resources [
19]. Nevertheless, Phillips and Pittman (2014) remained focused on the economic development of communities and supported communities in innovative and new ways [
20,
21]. Tourism helps communities to generate economic opportunities, and it encourages progress and growth in these areas. Concerns associated with local knowledge have increased recently, leading to empowerment, local community participation, and participatory learning, and various approaches and methods have become grassroots-oriented, improving the confidence and skills available to upgrade communities starting at the local level [
22,
23]. Since the 1990s, scholars have made a determined effort to understand the income opportunities of rural communities more precisely as they relate to aspirations for rural development; as such, development attracts tourism to these sites. Typically, tourism development influences rural communities, and it makes a positive impact on their livelihoods. Thus, for some researchers, social constructionism theories present culture by reflecting rustic studies as far removed from the core concern of change in the socioeconomic situation of these communities. By focusing on cultural values and developments in the local community, this study adopts a perspective of livelihood based on cultural knowledge, traditions, culture, and sustainable livelihoods of the rural communities as a pragmatic approach. The host communities want to make tourists happy to generate an advantageous image of the destination, which ultimately creates a positive reputation.
The hosts/local communities ultimately affect visitor satisfaction, which encourages tourists to revisit [
24]. Therefore, measuring the community’s perception of the host society is very important for tourism sustainability in the northern regions of Pakistan. Local community attitudes towards sustainable tourism development vary in developed and underdeveloped countries. In some Islamic countries, the host residents of rural communities display a welcoming approach to domestic and international tourists, and their opinion is more favorable to Muslim tourists as they share similar cultural values. Understanding such perspectives supports sustainable tourism and helps to create positive impacts on local communities.
Figure 1 below of the study area presents tourism sites.
We have enriched the study area by incorporating the geographical identification of the study area Tourism locations by using ArcGIS software (Esri, Redland, CA, USA) to show sample study area points on the map, as shown in
Figure 1 above [
25,
26].
In the context of Pakistani rural areas, host communities’ residents have observed that tourists consume products and services, which creates income opportunities. Tourists in Islamic countries often practice similar religious traditions and share similar views of Islamic philosophy. Therefore, the response of local community residents and the intervention of their local government are different. Sustainable tourism is most likely to be achieved in an environment of natural beauty, where the community residents have a positive reputation, i.e., where both the natural environment and the social climate are perceived to be worthwhile. The natural environment includes animals, plants, and the inhabitants of these areas. The social climate includes social, cultural, and socioeconomic factors. However, it is notable that the human and the natural environments are connected or interlinked, and human activities influence the natural environment by affecting the sustainability of the environment [
27,
28]. Therefore, sustainable tourism may have a positive social impact as a human activity, as its effects are evident in the destination areas, and tourists often come into contact with the local environment, culture, and society [
29]. This paradigm is reflected on an international and domestic level in the study area—a beautiful, little-explored valley in Pakistan—where sustainable tourism development policies and implementation need the attention of the government to consider such factors [
30,
31,
32], particularly in the context of the rural areas of northern Pakistan [
33,
34,
35]. The study area includes important mountain ranges that have received attention from domestic and international travelers, who often choose to revisit the destination.
Table 1 presents an overview of the sites included in the study area.
Figure 2 below shows the study area.
The study area commands a spectacular view of the Karakoram mountain range, including K2, which is the second highest peak in the world. The natural beauty of the region appeals to many residents and international tourists each year, bringing a considerable amount of foreign currency into the country. Traditional communities are active in the promotion of cultural tourism, which improves economic growth, helps communities to create income opportunities, and provides an increase in local businesses.
Similarly, cultural tourism helps to identify avenues of alternative tourism development that can help to maintain a genuinely enriching environment. Since the first Western tourist group visited this region at the end of the 19th century, more international tourists have begun to travel to the study area every year. The opening of the Karakorum (KKH) Expressway in 1978 promoted the development of new wave tourism. At present, the modern tourism industry in the northern region of Pakistan is now able to entertain four categories of tourists: (1) group tourists (using international travel services); (2) individual tourists (using temporary services); (3) high-altitude climbers and expeditions; and (4) domestic tourism services. Over the past two decades, tourism development has attracted visitors to the beautiful natural valleys of Gilgit-Baltistan, and local communities have supported and encouraged tourists to visit these natural sites and places. The focus of the Pakistani government has been to promote climbing and hiking in the highlands, encouraging foreign exchange trading. Domestic visitors traveling to these areas have increased tremendously in number, including noninstitutional groups and families, especially in the summer. Several Arab tourists are regular travelers to these natural places, enjoying the supportive attitude of the local communities: the cultural and social experiences are remarkable and relatively cheap compared with European trips.
In this study, we focused on the northern part of Pakistan, named Gilgit-Baltistan, and investigated contemporary perspectives on local attitudes [
36], culture, sustainable tourism development, and the religiosity effect as a conceptual framework for examining the rural tourism development process in the valleys of Gilgit-Baltistan [
37]. Here, we propose a collaborative approach that emphasizes the role of social attitudes and the impact of religiosity, cultural, and other socioeconomic factors on developing sustainable tourism that benefits both tourists and local communities collectively [
38]. We examined the residents’ religious practices and their effect on the perceived socio-cultural impact of sustainable tourism. The residents’ religious beliefs have a positive and significant relationship with the socio-cultural impacts on sustainable tourism.
3. Methods
Researchers typically use the smart PLS-SEM technique for developing a theory in exploratory research [
49]. The smart PLS-SEM critical applications include confirmatory factor analysis, path analysis, regression models, factor analysis, covariance structure models, and correlation structure models [
5]. Additionally, structural equation modeling (SEM) permits linear relationships analysis between manifest variables and latent constructs. Partial least squares SEM (PLS-SEM) refers to a multivariate statistical technique for evaluating the measurement model simultaneously, such as the relationship between the study constructs and its conforming indicators with a structural model to indicate relationships between the constructs [
107]. It also can produce available parameter estimates to assess the associations between unobserved variables. Typically, the SEM method allows many relationships to be calculated and tested at once in the single proposed model with many links instead of investigating each relationship individually. This study has analyzed the hypothesized structural model of
Figure 4 by using a smart PLS-SEM approach, and it is advantageous over other regression-based methods to evaluate different latent constructs with several manifest variables [
5]. The PLS-SEM research approach is a robust, flexible, and superior tool to build an adequate statistical model, while the PLS-SEM feature helps in achieving the predicted objective [
108,
109,
110]. Wan Afthanorhan [
111], and Astrachan et al. [
112] stress that reliable and valid confirmatory factor analysis is well achieved by using PLS-SEM path modeling. Consistent with the above arguments, PLS-SEM is a statistical tool that has been used by several researchers in various research areas in social sciences, including business research [
108]. Moreover, PLS-SEM specifically permits the testing of complex models having multilevel effects; for instance, a mediating role and other complex models’ variables relationships [
110]. This study applied smart PLS -SEM V-3.2.8 for data analysis and to calculate loadings, path coefficients, and weights; the study incorporated the bootstrapping technique to determine significance levels [
107].
Figure 5 displays the three steps of the data collection procedures. In the first phase, we selected the preliminary Islamic religiosity variables influencing the perceived socio-cultural impact of sustainable tourism development. In the second phase, we designed a pilot study to test and obtain a clear understanding of questionnaire items’ reliability and modified it accordingly. In the third and final step, we executed the survey and received feedback from the respondents.
3.1. Preliminary List of Factors
Primarily, we identified over 30 influential factors affecting local perceptions of tourism development; we tested a pilot study by engaging 15 experts in the relevant field whose recommendations were incorporated into the questionnaire before starting the final phase by removing some unsuitable factors concerning the local conditions and the design of this single study. Factors affecting tourism development are shown in
Table 3 below;
3.2. Designing a Questionnaire
We developed and distributed the revised version of the selected factors of the self-structured survey among the targeted population to receive the required data using a random sampling approach. We informed and trained the respondents about the purpose of this research, and we assured the respondents that all the data elicited is strictly confidential. The questionnaire had two sections on the respondents’ perceptions of tourism development. The survey also obtained the respondents’ general information, such as gender, age, education, profession, and location in the questionnaire’s first section, while its second section addressed the critical and influencing religiosity factors. The study invited respondents from the rural communities of the selected study areas to answer questions on the impact of sustainable tourism on their daily lives. The questionnaire utilized a five-point Likert-scale requiring individuals to rate their agreement levels from strongly disagree = 1 to strongly agree = 5 (strongly disagree = 1, disagree = 2, agree = 3, neither agree nor disagree = 4, and strongly agree = 5).
3.3. Size of the Targeted Population Sample
The sample size of the population comprised of 508 valid responses and focused strictly on rural communities in the area of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. The respondents were required to be educated at least to a degree level. The researchers omitted uneducated people as they were hesitant to answer questions during the pilot test, and they were unaware of the survey’s importance. We educated and trained the respondents about the survey’s purpose, and the researchers gave the respondents 14 days to understand and fill out the survey.
3.4. Data Processing of the Questionnaire’s Feedback
After receiving the input from the targeted respondents, the researchers checked and screened all the questionnaires. Based on the completed and accurate responses, the researchers collected 508 adequately filled out surveys and scrutinized them to confirm the data accuracy. This study processed the data received and analyzed it by applying the analytical tool Smart PLS 3.2.8. In the final step, the statistical analysis provided the interpreted results as a useful insight and valuable evidence for the evaluation of the underlying factors. Additionally, 15 experts on rural development who already contributed to the pilot study during screening the crucial elements were invited again to offer their valuable expertise and provide their opinion on the data results.
5. Discussion
Tourists’ spiritual, emotional, or physical needs determine their motivation for traveling [
136]. Devesa, Laguna, and Palacios (2010) specified that visitors’ determinant and satisfaction levels are the motivational source for tourism [
137]. From a tourists point of view, tourism is a response of travelers to felt needs and acquired values within their particular spatial, temporal, social, and monetary parameters [
136]. Once their values and requirements are applied to the tourism scenario, tourists’ motivations for traveling constitute an essential parameter of their formation of expectations [
138]. Tourists’ expectations determine their perception of the performance of services and products in addition to their opinions on their travel experiences. Travelers’ motivation subsequently influences their satisfaction [
139]. Through our research, we attempted to recognize the major religious, socio-cultural, and economic impacts on local communities caused by sustainable tourism development in Pakistan. In this study, we applied the smart PLS-SEM method, and via a comprehensive analysis of the structural and measurement, model and results affirmed both models. We implemented an advanced technique using PLS-SEM software V-3.2.8, which is a commonly used multivariate analysis approach to calculate and assess the variance-based structural equations models by performing a statistical analysis [
49]. It can test the relationships of a selected model’s latent and manifest variables simultaneously. We selected this technique because of its assessment ability concerning the psychometric properties of each latent construct, determining which the most important construct is and how it affects the socio-cultural impacts on sustainable tourism. The residents’ demographic profile indicated that the respondents were mostly male (291 = 57.28%; Female = 217, 42.72%). The findings of this study recognized the positive relationship of residents’ religiosity on sustainable tourism development in Pakistan, and the study results supported the proposed hypotheses. Hypothesis 1 stated that religious commitment factors revealed a positively impact (β = 0.436, t = 11.651,
p = 0.000) on the socio-cultural impact of sustainable tourism development. Hypothesis 2 claimed that community’s religious practices had a positively significant impact on developing sustainable tourism development. The results of this study confirmed Hypothesis 2 (β = 0.286, t = 6.811,
p < 0.000), and the findings presented in
Table 8 endorsed these positive relationships. In this study, Hypothesis 3 stated that residents’ religious beliefs positively affect the perceived socio-cultural impact of sustainable tourism development, and the results confirmed H3 as indicated (β = 0.284, t = 5.193,
p < 0.000). The results revealed that R² = 0.841, showing three exogenous latent constructs that jointly explained 84.10% of the variance related to the socio-cultural impacts on sustainable tourism development. The result regarding predictive relevance revealed that Q2 = 0.427, which confirmed that the PLS path model’s quality is satisfactory concerning endogenous constructs. The results reveal that the entire proposed hypothesis is positive and statistically significant regarding acceptance. The findings show that the residents’ religiosity level (religious commitment, practices, and beliefs) affected the socio-cultural impact of sustainable tourism development. This study establishes new empirical findings on sustainable tourism development. In this study, we examined the implications of local culture, heritage, and socioeconomic and socio-cultural effects on local inhabitants. Tourism destinations can promote marketing campaigns to attract religious tourists, and these such strategies can improve sustainable tourism development. Sustainable tourism can also create opportunities for small, family-oriented businesses [
48,
49].
Typically, Gilgit-Baltistan’s tumultuous past faces the left traces and enriches the domestic socio-cultural impacts, the gastronomy, and architecture; all these aspects are relevant factors that encourage the global tourists to visit these areas physically. However, previous studies evidence that heritage prevails in the rural northern regions as it usually better preserves heritages against external impacts, and the global tourists might avail the probable opportunity to experience the scenic beauty and original heritage time to time [
140]. Scholars have highlighted the essential features that residents and their perceptions play to understand the development mechanism and process of sustainable tourism development [
9,
10]. Typically, residents influence sustainable tourism on their individual and collective living conditions [
10,
11]. Tourism development characteristically is perceived as an indispensable development opening for the local community in the view of the Government of Pakistan and the regional Government of Gilgit-Baltistan. The previous literature supports the primary purpose of this work as tourism destinations have become indispensable elements, and it has become increasingly essential in developing both economic and cultural factors to attract global tourists. Usually, tourism development is the source of development openings for the host communities because of its associated vital advantages such as building new parks, recreational opportunities in the areas, job opportunities, better health facilities, education, improved infrastructure, and residents’ better living standard. The results of this specific research also confirmed the findings of earlier surveys showing that developing sustainable tourism leads to cultural and natural environment protection and it increases the economic prosperity and job opportunities [
141,
142,
143,
144,
145,
146].
Sustainable tourism development in the destination typically generates an additional income for local administration budgets that utilized and invests for developing future tourism marketing strategies and conservation of the sustainable tourism attractions by guaranteeing the sustainability of tourist areas. The findings of this proposed research are consistent and in line with earlier research studies [
145,
147,
148]. According to the factual reality of residents, they perceive tourism development as playing an indispensable role credibly for social and economic benefits, and it is the common finding in the geographical areas. Because the host communities feel very proud to preserve their cultural heritage as it is amongst one of the global oldest civilizations. Concerning social problems, factors reporting the dimensions revealed positive feedback from the local communities, showing that residents with stronger religious beliefs perceived no damage: sustainable tourism development would not cause social problems in their regions. The results showed that more religiosity among local communities led to the perception that sustainable tourism development would be beneficial. The findings are similar to the results Harrill, (2004), Cavus and Tanrisevdi research [
149,
150,
151].
The results supported the many researchers who support three main aspects of religiosity. It was interestingly essential to note that scholars have stated that Islamic religiosity for believers based on the Quran and Hadith (belief and practice) [
152]. The results showed that religious beliefs and religious commitment were very high among local people, and this religiosity showed association with the welcoming behavior of local people [
153,
154,
155,
156]. This finding of the present study is consistent with the previous finding of Hassan (2007), who found the same result in his research [
157,
158]. Richerson and Christiansen (2013, p. 23) and Lewens (2015, p. 147) claimed that past regional culture acclaims religion and explains the observations [
159,
160]. There are several natural sites, vibrant local cultures and UNESCO World Heritage Sites and Pakistan hope to develop sustainable tourism [
161]. In this study, we identified three key dimensions of religiosity: religious belief, religious commitment, religious practice, and these findings are consistent with those of preceding studies, suggesting the existence of these two fundamental dimensions of individuals’ religiosity [
88,
89]. This study is novel and valuable, and it addresses monitoring and managing culturally, socially, and economically improved livelihoods and better health services, resulting from religiosity and socio-cultural impacts on sustainable tourism development, and it delivers original insights on the interaction between the religiosity of residents and tourism development.
6. Conclusions
This study was designed to examine the effect of Islamic religiosity of local Pakistani residents on socio-cultural impacts on sustainable tourism development in the northern regions of Pakistan, and it offers an insight into the local communities’ support for sustainable tourism development. In this study, we summarized some critical investigations in the literature (
Table 2). These studies used various methodologies to examine the effects of different factors on the socio-cultural impacts on sustainable tourism. This study proposed an original method to explore and analyze the selected key constructs of religiosity on socio-cultural implications for sustainable tourism. The main contribution of this research, from a theoretical perspective, is the analysis of the residents’ socio-cultural impacts supporting tourism development, especially religiosity-related factors. Overall, northern Pakistani residents’ perceived socio-cultural impacts positively affect sustainable tourism development, and they showed their support and inclination for future sustainable tourism development in their regions. Among the socio-cultural impacts, the analysis of the residents’ religiosity revealed that tourism development leads to a greater acceptance of sustainable tourism in these areas. Moreover, this is the first study to investigate the effects of such religiosity-related factors on the perceived socio-cultural impact of tourism development in the Pakistani cultural context. The proposed tourism model of this research offers the most effective determinant of perceived socio-cultural benefits. The results of this study reveal that religious belief, religious commitment, and the spiritual practices of local communities show a significant and positive effect on the perceived socio-cultural impact of sustainable tourism by Pakistani residents. It indicates that the residents’ greater religiosity level showed a positive relationship with socio-cultural and economic effects.
Thus, Islamic religiosity influences the perception of residents regarding tourism development, and local communities understand that sustainable tourism development, infrastructure factors, and cultural activities play significant roles in community development. Tourism improves the community image and brings better facilities, health services, quality of life, education, improved infrastructure, and economic growth. This result confirms the statements of Butler and Suntikul (2017) and Raj and Griffin (2017), which explain that Islamic religiosity supports the development of the tourism industry [
12,
162]. The findings revealed that independent constructs of this tourism model explained 84.10% of the variance regarding the perceived socio-cultural impact and showed that three independent variables of the model caused 84.10% of the change in the socio-cultural effects caused by sustainable tourism. The findings indicate that residents’ communities are not merely limited to economic advantages; however, it also proved the non-monetary advantages of sustainable tourism development. The residents of these northern Pakistani areas are Muslims, and the findings were consistent with the those of prior studies and in line with the study of Hassan [
157], and in terms religiosity level, the residents have a firm commitment to their religion. By providing training and educating host communities residents with required skills, knowledge, and information, these residents can be trained and prepared to understand the advantages of tourism development. In response, they will actively be involved in tourism development and support the tourism industry naturally [
163].
Most foreign tourists come from Muslim countries and they share similar religious values and culture. Social exchange theory may also explain observations that residents accept or tolerate people who are closer to their social standing and resemble them culturally. Additionally, local communities’ have a positive perception of developing sustainable tourism in these rural areas with beautiful natural sites in Pakistan. Several scholars have conducted numerous studies on socio-cultural impacts, and social exchange theory has also explained this life cycle concept in tourism areas [
10,
12,
164]. As for the contextual and theoretical contribution of this innovative work to scientific knowledge, it is the first such work to be conducted in the context of Pakistan, examining residents’ religiosity level and the effect of religiosity on the perceived socio-cultural impact of tourism development. In this study, we explored the effects of residents’ religiosity and their perceptions related to the socio-cultural impact of sustainable tourism development [
165,
166,
167], as well as social distance theory [
1,
2,
168], and have supported sustainable tourism development since its earliest stages [
12,
169,
170].
6.1. Limitations and Recommendation
Concerning the empirical and hypothesized constraints of this study, we have presented theories supporting tourism development solely from the perspective of socio-cultural impacts. This tourism model’s findings were not identified and determined in the literature, and the results of this case study cannot be generalized to other Pakistani areas or other Muslim societies. This research study expands the body of knowledge regarding the residents’ religiosity level, and understanding socio-cultural impacts are vital for sustainable tourism development. The findings of this research might be of considerable interest to sustainable tourism development policy-makers, the tourism industry, and the developers to influence more sustainable policies and strategies in line with the preferences of local communities. This study recommends that future research studies should attempt to assess the relationship between individuals’ religiosity and the socio-cultural impacts on sustainable tourism development with large sample sizes in other regions of Pakistan. Ultimately, other Muslims societies, such as Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Iran, and Indonesia, are also sites of significant ethnic and cultural importance, historically significant and natural beauty, and improving our understanding of religiosity and socio-cultural impacts in developing sustainable tourism in these areas is important.
6.2. Implications
The results of this research have refined the theoretical basis to explain the interplay of socio-cultural factors that influence the host residents’ reaction to supporting tourism development. Additionally, these results have contributed to the existing body of scientific knowledge by developing, testing, and refining a tourism model that explained 84.10% of the variance in the host communities’ residents’ support for sustainable tourism development. Overall, this research expanded the existing body of scientific knowledge from a socio-cultural point of view to include the perspective of residents’ religiosity level as a factor supporting sustainable tourism development. The proposed tourism model, constructs, and measurement approach might be applicable in different regions of Pakistan and other tourism destinations, particularly in other Islamic countries and community-based sustainable tourism development projects. In this research, we utilized several underpinning theories, such as social exchange theory, self-determination theory, attachment theory, social representation theory, and social distance theory. Accordingly, the results of this research could support the suitability of the use of such theories. The tested tourism model showed that residents’ religiosity, community attachment, and knowledge on sustainable tourism development affects the local community’s support for sustainable tourism development. Considering this context, tourism policy-makers, practitioners, and developers might examine the behavior of residents to support tourism development in certain destinations [
118]. The implications of these findings may provide significant advantages not only to academic researchers, but they might also provide benefits to other industries, such as service practitioners, tourism planners, and managers.
Planning a sustainable tourism destination, it requires a deep understanding of all involved stakeholders preferences, and the host communities [
171]. The support of host residents is necessary as the hospitable, friendly host residents play the leading role in tourists’ destination satisfaction and it imrpoves the success of tourism development projects [
163]. In the same context, findings showed that residents’ support for sustainable tourism development projects have parallel relationships with residents’ religiosity level and perceived socio-cultural impacts. Residents’ higher positive perceptions of the socio-cultural impact of sustainable tourism development support in their living areas. The findings of this study might assist policy-makers and practitioners in predicting host communities attitude, and preferences toward tourism development [
121]. Policy makers, tourism developers, and tourism planners should pay attention to have the actual knowledge as well as an understanding of local communities, the dynamics of the influential factors, and how local communities residents perceive it before launching new tourism projects [
39]. Having proper information about the tourism destinations, specific preferences, and the demographic profiles of destination residents is exceptionally beneficial for future planning, particularly in the destination places that are new for tourism development projects [
163,
172,
173].