Sustainable Ecotourism Suitability Assessment Using the Intergraded TOPSIS Model in the State of Mizoram, India

Jonmenjoy Barman, Somenath Halder, Jayanta Das, Syed Sadath Ali, Fahdah Falah Ben Hasher, Rukhsana and Mohamed Zhran ()
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Jonmenjoy Barman: Department of Geography and Resource Management, Mizoram University, Aizawl 796004, India
Somenath Halder: Department of Geography, Kaliachak College, Malda 732202, India
Jayanta Das: Department of Geography, Rampurhat College, Rampurhat 731224, India
Syed Sadath Ali: Department of Civil Engineering, Ballari Institute of Technology and Management, Ballari 583104, India
Fahdah Falah Ben Hasher: Department of Geography and Environmental Sustainability, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia
Rukhsana: Department of Geography, Aliah University, Kolkata 700156, India
Mohamed Zhran: Public Works Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Mansoura University, Mansoura 35516, Egypt

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 24, 1-31

Abstract: Ecotourism is becoming more and more significant because it aids in environmental protection and maintaining the sustainable growth of a region. Mizoram is known for its potentially varied landscapes, which draw visitors from many nations and territories. The Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) approach was used in this study to evaluate land suitability for ecotourism initiatives in Mizoram spatially. The study also focused on role weighting (subjective, objective, and intergraded) on the decision-making process. In this regard, the weightage of twelve ecotourism influencing factors was determined to integrate with the TOPSIS model and the Geographical Information System (GIS) environment. As a result, five hierarchical ecotourism zones, including very high to very low, have been classified using Jenks’s natural breaking classification. The model’s accuracy based on the area under the curve (AUC) and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve revealed that all models successfully predict potential ecotourism in the marginal hilly region. As a result, the intergrade weighting combined TOPSIS model showed that 25.18% of the study region has very highly suitable for ecotourism. The results of this study may be used as a foundation for assessing the feasibility of resources suitable for ecotourism development by government officials and planners.

Keywords: ecotourism; analytical hierarchical process (AHP); Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS); ecotourism potential zone (EPZ); ecotourism in a marginal area; integrative hybrid analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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