Desert Resort Complex Site Selection using AHP Method

In recent years, particular attention has been given to the principles of sustainable development as a comprehensive approach with the aim of improving the quality of life, in economic, social and environmental aspects. Among these contexts, tourism is one of the fields in which sustainable development can be outspread. In addition, significant proportion of Iran’s area consists of desert region that can be considered to have a potentiality of becoming one of the best tourist destinations across these areas. The recent principles of sustainable development are based on indigenous development and utilization of geospatial diversity. From this point of view, while respecting the natural, cultural and social features as well as the architectural heritage in the desert regions, these areas could be considered as sustainable tourism targets. In addition to the existing natural environment in the desert regions and their strong attraction for the extensive ranges of tourism types, the touristic and residential complexes are necessary not only to support the needs of the local residents, but also to serve as the accommodational choice of the tourists in these areas.
Design and construction of such complexes are consisted of several factors, and when considering the essence of the issue and the context of the design, the site selection would be the first and one of the most effective steps towards achieving the final design. Then, the questions of this study are what the logical process of the site selection would be, and eventually, what the most effective factors are in this process; also, how the amount of impact factor in each criterion could be identified. As a consequence, the aim of this study is to propose a logical procedure for a proper site selection for the similar desert resort complexes among the specific choices through a logical comparison. The criteria used in this study are derived from previous studies, along with the expert interviews developed through questionnaires; subsequently, based on the AHP method (Analytic Hierarchy Process), these criteria and their influence on the site selection process have been surveyed. In order to demonstrate the performance of the proposed logic, Khur-o-Biabanak county in Isfahan province, one of the regions which holds the desert tourism potentiality, has been studied as the contextual case study; and finally, amongst the six specified choices in this country, Mesr village has been selected as the final option.