Application of geospatial technology for potential ecotourism site selection in Masha district, Southwest Ethiopia.

Ecotourism is one of the fastest growing sectors in the tourism industry nowadays. Ethiopia is not effectively using its rich and endemic wildlife species for ecotourism due to various physical and socioeconomic factors. Masha district has also abundant and valuable natural and cultural resources that can be developed into ecotourism, but the district was not used its attractive resources for ecotourism. The current study was initiated to select potential sites for ecotourism using Geographic Information System and Remote Sensing as a decision support tool in Masha district, Southwest Ethiopia. This study employed Geographic Information System-based Multi-Criteria Evaluation Method because it was commonly used technique in suitable site selection. To achieve the objective of this study, about even physical and socioeconomic parameters were selected through the literature review. Then, weights for each factor were assigned based on Analytical Hierarchy Process using pairwise comparison matrices. Based on the overlay result, a thematic map of potential ecotourism sites was produced. The final results reveal that about 21.2% of the study area was classified as highly suitable potential ecotourism sites whereas about 59 and 19.5% of the district were under moderately and marginally suitable classes. But, only the small portion of the district (0.4%) was considered as not currently suitable site for ecotourism. Therefore, decision-makers should give a due attention to advertise the selected suitable site for both local and foreign tourists in order to develop the district as one of the ecotourism destination areas in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]