Geospatial assessment of ecotourism potential in the Lake Tana Watershed, Ethiopia

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Abstract
Accurate assessment of ecotourism site suitability is essential for sustainability planning, ecological conservation, and local economic development. This study evaluates ecotourism suitability in the Lake Tana watershed, Ethiopia, using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) integrated with the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and multi-criteria evaluation techniques. The methodological novelty of this study lies in the integration of spatial environmental and infrastructural factors, supplemented with local expert and community perceptions, within a GIS-based AHP framework. This provides a more comprehensive and context-specific suitability assessment for sustainable ecotourism development in the Lake Tana watershed compared to previous broader regional studies, including detailed validation using ROC-AUC and consideration of multiple accessibility metrics. Key factors considered include elevation, slope, vegetation density, and proximity to water bodies and infrastructure. A suitability map was developed based on weighted criteria derived from pairwise comparisons. The results showed that 20% of the watershed, mainly around Lake Tana and nearby water bodies, is highly suitable for ecotourism development, while 50% is moderately suitable, 3.5% is marginally suitable, and 26% is unsuitable. The findings provide important guidance for sustainable ecotourism planning, policy development, and evidence-based decision making, and demonstrate the applicability of GIS–AHP approaches for assessing ecotourism potential in other regions.
Funding Information
  • Vice President's Office for Research and Community Service at Bahir Dar University (ROS/230/03/13)

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