Fuzzy Group Decision-Making in the Measurement of Ecotourism Sustainability Potential

Both theoretical and practical efforts to evaluate ecotourism development often neglect alternative characteristics that may interact with and mutually influence the primary indicators. To evaluate the sustainability of an ecotourism site, this study utilizes subjective measures to analyze the relationships among tourism, resources, community, economy and society. Yangshan Ecological Park in Kinmen is examined to demonstrate the implementation of the proposed integrated framework in ecotourism development. First, the Fuzzy Delphi Method was applied to select the critical factors. Local residents, tourists and resource administrators were interviewed to explore each group’s perception of relationships. Then, Interpretive Structural Modeling was employed to determine the interrelationship among the critical factors. A Fuzzy Analytic Network process model was constructed to evaluate the potential sustainability of ecotourism and the relative importance the weights of the criteria and sub-criteria. The study provides a valuable integrated tool for sustainable destination management.