Abstract

The triple bottom line (TBL) is a philosophical approach which has given a new meaning to organizations’ mantra for doing business as it goes beyond the traditional economic sustainable strategy, whereby including social and environmental sustainable strategies for attainment of sustainable development. This research study endeavors to understand the meaning of Triple Bottom Line (TBL) and that of the management initiatives toward achieving effectiveness through TBL in the context of national parks particularly located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In order to understand the novel concept of TBL (environmental, social and economic) from multi-stakeholder perspectives, a total of fifteen (15) semi-structured interviews were carried out from key informants including national park management, tourism department, business community, tourists and local community. The interviews were then analyzed using the thematic analysis with the help of Nvivo 11 software as proposed by Braun and Clarke (2006). Given the aggregate themes using TBL as a theoretical lens, the results of the study highlighted the importance of environmental dimension as the most significant component whereas the social/people and economic/profit were understood as the secondary driving force in achieving the effective management in KP national parks. The study concluded that the national parks can attain sustainable tourism management through adoption of TBL concept.

Key words: Triple bottom line; Effective Management; National Parks; Sustainability; Pakistan