Suitability-sensitivity analysis of nature-based tourism using geographic information systems and analytic hierarchy process

ABSTRACT

Evaluation and identification of nature-based tourism (NBT) destinations is not a new practice; however, evaluating the variability of various inputs in the identification of NBT destinations have only recently gained special attention. This study highlights the importance of conducting sensitivity analysis of criteria weights in mapping NBT areas in the state of West Virginia. As an extension to the study by Dhami, Deng, Burns, and Pierskalla (2014, Identifying and mapping forest-based ecotourism areas in West Virginia incorporating visitors’ preferences. Tourism Management, 42, 165–176) who examined and mapped NBT areas in West Virginia by incorporating visitors’ perceptions as criteria weights into a spatial suitability model, this study focuses on how sensitive NBT areas are to the variations of visitors’ and ecotourism experts’ perceptions of selected criteria (i.e. remoteness, slope, vegetation, wildlife, mining, and logging) using a simple one-at-a-time method. Results indicate that visitors and ecotourism experts perceived the criteria in a similar manner with the presence of vegetation and remoteness being ranked as the most important criteria for NBT areas. The results also show that about one-third of West Virginia is highly suitable and least sensitive to variations in criteria weights, and therefore suitable for a wide range of NBT tourists, irrespective of their preferences for the selected NBT criteria. Research implications and limitations are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• nature-based tourism
• GIS
• AHP
• criteria weights
• sensitivity analysis
• West Virginia

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Mr Steve Harouf, West Virginia Division of Forestry GIS specialist, for providing spatial data needed for this study, and staff from West Virginia Division of Tourism and the two welcome centres for their assistance in the data collection. We are also grateful to those visitors and ecotourism experts who participated in the survey.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded to the second author by the USDA McIntire Stennis Program (grant numbers 0206012 and 0230037).