Sustainable Agritourism Location Investigation in Vietnam by a Spherical Fuzzy Extension of Integrated Decision-Making Approach

Abstract

For tourists in the post-COVID era, it is a popular choice to experience nature and idyllic rural life in fields, gardens, and farms instead of crowding into high-level services in modern tourist destinations. This trend has created a focus on sustainable development within tourism. Agritourism is an alternative tourism experience that demonstrates high potential for the tourism industry while positively impacting agricultural production in rural areas. A suitable location selection process is essential to effectively developing agritourism and sustainability. However, the current literature on this issue is still limited. Therefore, this study introduces a combined decision-making model for optimal agritourism destination identification in the context of sustainable development. This research highlights the use of the spherical fuzzy set (SFSs), in which the spherical fuzzy Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) determines the criteria’s importance in combination with their causal relationship, and the spherical fuzzy Evaluation based on Distance from Average Solution (EDAS) finds the alternative destinations’ priority. The model’s efficiency is illustrated through an empirical study of Vietnam and by a sensitivity analysis. The resulting research found that decision-makers should consider the factors of local living conditions (ASC10), and local agriculture products (ASC3) when investigating agritourism locations. Consequently, the optimal destination for sustainable agritourism development was found to be Lam Dong (AD9), which can efficiently promote tourism activities while increasing the value of agriculture in the countryside. These findings can assist decision-makers in selecting tourism sites in other regions and other tourism development projects.