An Integrated Decision Support Framework Using Single-Valued-MEREC-MULTIMOORA for Low Carbon Tourism Strategy Assessment

In this paper, globally existing low-carbon tourism strategies (LCTSs) are recognized and then ranked over fourteen different indicators relevant to SEE analysis (social (S), economic (E), and environmental (E) aspects) of sustainability. A comprehensive framework is proposed in which decision experts (DEs) are capable to assess linguistic values to give their decisions and contribute in the decision-making needs to rank the SEE aspects that affect the sustainable perspective of LCTSs. This paper therefore proposes an integrated decision-making framework considering the various conflicting indicators and SEE aspects of sustainability. In addition, treating of uncertainty and inconsistency for data, we consider a neutrosophic setting with the use of single-valued neutrosophic numbers (SVNNs). First, the MEREC (Method based on the removal effects of criteria) weighting procedure is applied to recognize the relative significance of the SEE aspects and their indicators. Second, the generalized Dombi operators are proposed and their elegant properties are discussed to obtain aggregated information of SVNNs. Third, MULTIMOORA method is used to prioritize alternatives. A case study considering six LCTSs is taken to approve the practicality of the introduced methodology, and comparison discussion is made to illustrate the benefits of the developed methodology. Sensitivity investigation is done to evidence the rationality and permanence of the proposed methodology with variations in indicators’ weights. The outcomes of the study offer valuable facts for low-carbon tourism experts and the outcomes of the case study specify that the LCTS-I is the optimum sustainable LCTSs with overall assessment degree of 0.208 after that LCTS-II with utility degree of 0.172.