Document Type : scientific-research article
Authors
isfahan
Abstract
The present applied research aims to identify areas suitable for ecotourism development in order to guide development planning and policymaking in the rural regions of Mahabad County, which is considered one of the main ecotourism hubs in West Azerbaijan Province,In this regard, a combined framework based on the integration of Geographic Information Systems(GIS) and Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis(MCDA) with the use of Fuzzy Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory(FDEMATEL) was applied to assess the ecological capability of the area and perform its spatial zoning.This framework was designed using the Delphi method and included 16 criteria grouped into four clusters: environmental, topographic, socio-economic, and natural factors.The FDEMATEL technique was employed to calculate the expert-assigned weights for each cluster and criterion based on their influence on ecotourism development. The final ecological suitability map for ecotourism development was produced using the Weighted Linear Combination (WLC) method,which classified the area into four qualitative categories: highly suitable, suitable, moderately suitable, and unsuitable
Following sensitivity analysis based on changes in cluster weights to determine the reliability of the zoning process, it was found that the largest spatial extent of the county falls into the moderately suitable category, followed by suitable and highly suitable zones, while the unsuitable category covered the smallest area. The rural districts of Kani Bazar (with the largest area and number of villages in the highly suitable zone), Western Mokrian, and Eastern Mangur possess the greatest potential for ecotourism development. Topographic factors were identified as the most influential criteria in advancing ecotourism. Moreover, Moran’s spatial autocorrelation index indicated that the spatial distribution of villages located in the highly suitable zones is clustered within Mahabad County. This clustered pattern highlights the inevitable need for spatially balanced management and organization of ecotourism activities to establish a sustainable economic and social flow with equitable benefits across the region
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