Ecotourism branding in protected areas of Iran: Using an efficient hybrid multi-criteria decision-making method model

Ecotourism, as a nature-based sustainable tourism, raises awareness about the protection of natural and cultural landscape values. This study aims to determine the ecotourism criteria to develop strategies for a sustainable ecotourism branding in Golestan, located in the northeast of Iran. To reach this aim, Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats (SWOT) analysis, multi-criteria decision-making methods consisting of Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), and Best and Worst Method (BWM) were integrated. The most appropriate ecotourism strategies for the branding of the study area were ranked according to their priorities. The results of this study reveal that among the 5 main and 20 sub ecotourism criteria, "having natural protected areas," which is an opportunity, and "having ecological values," which is a strength, were determined as the highest priority strategies for ecotourism branding. The methods and results of this quantitative-based research present an exemplary hybrid model that prioritizes the strategies required for branding ecotourism in similar protected areas.