Site Selection of Tourism Village in Mahabad Dam Shore Using AHP, GIS and SWOT Techniques

Suitable site selections to provide the services needed by the tourists, is one of the most important step for tourism planning in the form of tourism villages based on the identification and analysis of the various criteria and indicators. Mahabad dam Lake as one of the beautiful tourist attractions in Western Azerbaijan province, attracts many tourists each year especially during the holidays, while lacking in necessary amenities and facilities for the development of tourism commensurate with the needs of tourists. In the present study, the aim is to determine and analyze the effective criteria and sub criteria for selecting a suitable site which offering services to tourists on the edge of Mahabad dam. In the present study, due to differences in effectiveness of the indicators, (AHP) technique i..e paired comparison of these components was carried out by 25 tourism experts, and the final weight of each item was calculated. Then according to the number of criteria and the final weight of sub criteria, layers has been created in the Geographic Information system (GIS) Environment, in order to select the best site of tourism village on the edge of the Lake dam. The results of the integration of information layers have prioritized three regions as suitable sites for the creation of tourism villages. Then by using SWOT technique, Site A was identified as the best site of tourism village. Practical solutions: Finally appropriate strategies (SO, ST, WO, WT) based on SWOT methodology were offered for tourism development in the study area. Original/value: Using Geographic Information System (GIS) as a powerful tool for identifying and analyzing suitability of different geographical regions, can be a crucial step for suitable planning of tourism activities and therefore it can facilitate economic, social and cultural development for communities and play an important role to meet sustainable development goals.