The preference analysis for tourist choice of destination: A case study of Taiwan

This study identifies the factors that influence the tourists' choice of destination and evaluates the preferences of tourists for destinations. A 4-level AHP model, consisting of 22 attributes on the 4th level, was proposed and tested using data collected from tourists visiting Taiwan to establish the relative importance of pre-selected factors (criteria). By using fuzzy set theory and TOPSIS, the preference of 8 given destinations corresponding to each criterion can be evaluated and given final ranking. Results indicate that visiting friends/relatives and personal safety appear to be the 2 most important factors for inbound tourists to Taiwan, price is the least important and Taipei 101 is the first priority for travelers. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.