A fuzzy multicriteria model of sustainable tourism: Examples from the V4 countries

Abstract

The variability of the decision-making problems in the tourism sector is increasing and, thus, it requires studying several dimensions at the same time. Its complexity is also putting pressure on the use of demanding decision-making methods and algorithms that open a field for further investigation. The main goal of this article is to develop a fuzzy multicriteria model for evaluating the level of the image of the destination based on the dependence between costs, the number of days of stay, and the satisfaction of tourists as well as taking into account the levels of sustainable development of the example regions of the V4 countries. The model is verified and adjusted on the real data of 2343 tourists for the period 2017-2021 for the regions of the V4 countries; an approbation example is given on fragments of the data from 126 experts after a trip in 2020 in the three regions: the Zilina region (Slovakia), the Moravian-Silesian Region (the Czech Republic), and the Lesser Poland Voivodeship (Poland). The article results provide a valuable analytical platform for policy-makers, who have, thus, obtained a tool not only to evaluate the image and current sustainability of a region but also to forecast sustainability development.