Paper Title
Communities’ Understanding of Tourists and the Tourism Industry: (A Case Study of Pakistan)

Abstract
Community-based tourism is gaining eminence around the globe as a new trend of tourism. Community-based tourism has been encouraged as a social and environmental development and as a source of economic diversification of the local community through promoting and selling of a tourism product. The purpose of the study was to encourage the local residents in tourism with a confidence that their contribution is essential for sustaining tourism and alleviating poverty from the community. The methodology was consisted of an empirical study of interviews and surveys with government officials, local residents, and tourists with a well-designed questionnaire. The study reveals that 48% of respondents have knowledge about CBT. Furthermore, 60% of respondents ensure that incomes will be increased by 25% through community-based tourism. Government officials have reacted positively to build all basic needs and infrastructure that would be required to run a community-based tourism. The study concludes that tourism development will create new job opportunities and generate economic benefits to the local community and also responsibly protect and preserve their human dignity. Keywords: Community Based Tourism, local community, Tourism development, Promotion of Tourism, sustainable tourism Abbreviations: CBT – Community-based Tourism, UNWTO – United Nations World Tourism Organization, UN – United Nations, AJK – Azad Jammu Kashmir, GDP – Gross domestic product, PTDC- Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation, WCLA- Walled City of Lahore Authority, PU- University of the Punjab