Journal of Tourism, Hospitality, and Services Industries Research (JTHS)

Effect of Fintech Services Applications on Inflation and Unemployment in Pakistan

Mehak Ali — 2025-07-19

This research focused on the two important economic factors such as inflation and unemployment and its effects on the Fintech in Pakistan. As, Fintech is essentially the use of technology to deliver updated and new financial services. In Pakistan's fintech journey, the launch of branchless banking services like Easypaisa and JazzCash marked a significant turning point. Fintech is roughly defined as mobile money, online digital transactions and payments, and digital payment making and receiving. Hence, to examine the two most widely used metrics i.e. inflation and unemployment from the year 2014 to 2023, data was taken from the online database of Pakistan and website of world bank. It appeared that the active usage of Fintech through two-way transactions (buy and sale) resolved by the digital payment made or received has a lowering influence on inflation with respect to the traditional causes of inflation. However, passive use the straightforward act of purchasing or consuming, such making a payment online has a positive and substantial effect on inflation. This includes the adoption of debit cards and digital payments. And hence, this study also found that Fintech has the negative impact on unemployment rate through new investment opportunities. Governments would have to promote phone use, increase internet usage, and, most importantly, actively participate in digital commerce. Furthermore, robots are not going to replace humans in the workforce as a result of modern technology. For this reason, if employees need to acquire new skills due to current technological advancements, industry analysts think the analysis will probably enhance human capacities. Therefore, in order to enhance their digital infrastructure, particularly for enterprises, Pakistani government authorities should boost their economies and increase their information and communication technology.

A Qualitative Approach to Measure Customer Experience and Its Impact on Customer Service Satisfactionin the Hospitality Industry

Muhammad Zafran — 2025-07-19

Purpose-Firms in the hospitality industry are relying on customer experience(CX) to create competitive advantage and fulfil the ever changing needs of customers. CX research in the hospitality industry is scarce and to advance the research on this topic, we aim to conceptualize CX and explore its key dimensions in luxury hotel segments in the context of Pakistan.

Methodology/Design/Approach –A qualitative approach- in-depth interviews were conducted with senior managers of big luxury hotels in Pakistan to explore the dimensions of CX.

Findings The conceptualized framework derived from grounded theory encapsulates five elements of CX: 1) personalization, 2) visual-sensory experience, 3) services, 4) automation, 5) user’s security and privacy. Study results further reveals that customers with international exposure give high importance to features like automation and privacy & security aspects in service design delivery. Whereas, local guests prefer customization, personalization and visual sensory cues in services during their stay in the hotel. However, service quality remains critical factor for all guests.

Originality of the research -The conceptualized framework informs manager’s decision making regarding service design and delivers a unique experience to their guests.

Residents Perceptions of Religious Tourism and its Socio-Economic Impacts on Turbat City

Muhammad Yaseen — 2025-08-04

This research investigates residents' perceptions of the socio-economic impacts of religious tourism in Turbat City, Balochistan, with a specific emphasis on the Zikri pilgrimage to Koh-e-Murad. A quantitative research method was adopted, data were collected from 342 respondents residing in areas near the pilgrimage site i.e. areas of Koh-e-Murad, Kolwai Bazar, and Molid-e-Rek., using a structured questionnaire and convenience sampling. The findings revealed that religious tourism is perceived to positively contribute to employment, income, infrastructural development, and social cohesion. However, concerns regarding environmental degradation, commercialization of religion, and rising living costs were also noted. The study highlights the need for inclusive and sustainable tourism policies that balance economic benefits with the preservation of local traditions and environmental integrity. These findings provide valuable insights for policymakers, urban planners, and religious tourism stakeholders seeking to develop equitable tourism strategies in culturally sensitive regions.

URBAN MOBILITY OVERVIEW OF PAKISTAN: FOCUS ON ISLAMABAD

Sidra Jawad — 2025-07-23

The economic growth of a country is dependent upon road infrastructure. But due to urbanization, the majority of cities, including Islamabad, are facing issues of mobility. Therefore, this study was designed to explore factors that can help in improving the mobility of people in Islamabad. This research identified key traffic issues of Islamabad through literature analysis of past studies. Ultimately, this research also recommended several strategies to address the traffic issues in Islamabad. This research is beneficial for policymakers to improve traffic issues in the capital of Pakistan. Also, future studies can use these findings.

Perceived Environmental Impact and Socio-Economic Benefits as Drivers of Tourism Sustainability: Evidence from Market, Economic, and Social Perspectives

Shazia Kausar — 2025-08-05

The research paper investigates the connections among the perception of the environmental impacts of tourism and socio-economic benefits of the residents and how it affects the growth of sustainable tourism. With focus on the stakeholder theory, the study introduces residents as the key stakeholders whose involvement is vital to the sustainabile tourism. The results show that the perceived environmental impact measures have a positive relationship with the market and economic sustainability, but the relationships with the social sustainability are not significant, which drives the rejection of the Hypothesis H1c. On the contrary, socio-economic benefits positively relate strongly across the three sides of sustainable tourism namely economic, market as well as social which supports Hypothesis H2a, H2b and H2c. Theoretical offerings also enhance the relevance of the stakeholder theory because the paper argues that the position of the residents cannot be ignored to make the sustainable tourism, in market, social and economic terms. Practical implications imply that tourism policymakers (e.g., TDCP, PTDC, KPCTA) need to be more active in the process of engaging residents and encourage them to involve themselves in tourism planning. Conclusively, the research can stress that resident perceptions play significant role in ensuring balanced tourism development. Sustainable tourism requires ethical standards, community involvement and reciprocity of the tourists and the locals. These findings could be advanced in further research to narrow down solutions regarding tours built should be existing in a moderate way without leaving adverse impacts on the environment and concurrently being inclusive.