Abstract
The concept of ecotourism has experienced a significant surge in popularity over the past two decades, primarily driven by the multitude of adverse impacts associated with mass tourism. The objective of the study was to develop a comprehensive ecotourism suitability index to guide policymakers in implementing tourism development policies. Given the considerable appeal of the study area to both local and international tourists, it is essential to conduct a systematic evaluation to pinpoint suitable areas for ecotourism development. This necessity arises from the study area's placement within a fragile ecosystem and its proximity to a UNESCO World Heritage site. We employed a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) integrated environment coupled with a fuzzy Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) methodology. The GIS-MCDA integrated framework leverages the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and a weighted linear combination that seeks to amalgamate many features and criteria to assess ecotourism potential by integrating 20 criteria into six separate categories: landscape, topography, accessibility, climate, forest and wildlife, and negative factors. Weights were allocated to each criterion and factor based on the expert's opinions of their impact on the development of ecotourism. The final ecotourism suitability index comprised five unique classes: very high, high, moderate, less, and not suitable. Results reveal that out of the total areas, 45.4 % (259 km(2)) are within the high and very high suitable classes. The sensitivity analysis suggested that ecotourism potentials are more favorable to forest and accessibility variables. The generated index can be utilized as a road map since validation verified a 64 % accuracy. Given the dearth of earlier research, this study provides vital support for the development of sustainable ecotourism projects in the study area.