Impacts of crises and communication media on place image: A case study of Chilas, Pakistan

The positive practices of communication media are well rehearsed in social science research: however, the destructive impacts of communication media, specifically in destinations in crisis in less-developed countries, is less clear. This paper considers the role of communication media for tourism development in a remote area: Chilas, in the north of Pakistan. Chilas has many features - a dynamic historical, cultural and environmental background consisting, for example, of a unique landscape and ancient rock carvings - that make it an attractive tourist destination but it has yet to reach its full potential in this respect. The area has suffered from a number of natural and anthropogenic crises with many of the latter being on-going. This paper, which usies Chilas as an example, explores some of the issues with respect to the marketing of a destination that is in crisis, including, for example, the region being categorised as a seismic zone, suffering from such natural occurrences as landslides, poor infrastructure, including negligible emergency services and poor quality roads, and issues relating to terrorism. Comparisons are made with the neighbouring destinations of Gilgit, Chitral and the Hunza Valley, and the more positive media representations they receive. It will also consider the reasons why such geographically close areas should fare so differently in terms of marketing. The paper then goes on to make recommendations as to how to develop the image of a destination under crises while safeguarding the security of the destination, tourists and the local community.