Identifying and mapping forest-based ecotourism areas in West Virginia – Incorporating visitors' preferences |
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Institution: | 1. Department of Management, Isfahan Sheikh Baha''i University, Isfahan, Iran;2. Department of Natural Resources, Sari University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Sari, Iran;3. Centre for Environmental Sciences, Hasselt University, Hasselt, Belgium;4. Economics and Rural Development, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liege, Liege, Belgium;5. Department of Geography, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium |
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Abstract: | This study identifies and maps forest-based ecotourism areas in West Virginia by incorporating visitors' preferences. Relative weights for ecotourism destination criteria were obtained using the Analytic Hierarchy Process based on a survey of 777 participants. The study classified the state into five levels of naturalness with areas under Class I being the least natural and Class V being the most natural. The presence of wildlife was found to be the most important criterion and slope was found to be the least. Results also showed significant variations in visitors' preferences. Areas under Class IV and Class V in both weighted and unweighted ecotourism maps covered more than half of the state's area, suggesting high prospects for promoting forest-based ecotourism in the state. The results further showed that each class changed in size when visitors' preferences were applied. The ecotourism maps created provide useful insights for visitors, destination managers, and decision makers. |
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Keywords: | Forest-based ecotourism Naturalness continuum Geographic information system Analytic Hierarchy Process Pairwise comparison Criteria weight Visitors' preferences Suitability index |
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