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

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Abstract

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.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Jimma University and Masha district for their immense contribution during data collection and investigation process.

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, College of Social Science, Dilla University, Dilla, Ethiopia

    A. Andemo

  2. Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, College of Social Science, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia

    K. Getahun & A. Melese

  3. Department of Natural Resource Management, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia

    T. Melese

Authors
  1. A. Andemo
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  2. K. Getahun
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  3. A. Melese
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  4. T. Melese
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material design, data collection, and analysis were performed by AA and KG. The first draft of the manuscript was written by AA, and KG, AM, and TM commented on the previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to T. Melese.

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Editorial responsibility: S. Mirkia.

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Andemo, A., Getahun, K., Melese, A. et al. Application of geospatial technology for potential ecotourism site selection in Masha district, Southwest Ethiopia. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 21, 5019–5034 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-023-05342-5

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