Developing an urban tourism attractiveness index: An AHP-GIS framework for spatial decision-making

Tourism plays a central role in shaping urban dynamics, particularly in cities with rich yet underutilized cultural and environmental assets. In many developing regions, including Algeria, its integration into urban planning remains limited due to fragmented governance and the absence of spatial decision-support tools. This study develops an Urban Tourism Attractiveness Index for Sétif, Algeria, using a hybrid approach that combines the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) with Geographic Information Systems (GIS). A set of spatial indicators, covering tourism-related infrastructure, services, and natural and cultural resources, was identified through literature review and expert consultation. Weights were assigned using AHP, and spatial analysis in a GIS environment produced a tourism attractiveness map. Model performance was evaluated using the Area Under the ROC Curve (AUC), yielding a score of 0.84, indicating strong predictive accuracy. Results show that the highest attractiveness levels are concentrated in the historic core, while peripheral areas display moderate to low values. The findings highlight the value of integrating participatory multi-criteria analysis with geospatial tools to inform tourism planning. The study also proposes a mobile application concept to transform spatial data into accessible, user-friendly tools for both tourists and decision-makers. This framework is replicable and adaptable for cities in the Global South seeking to promote sustainable, evidence-based tourism development.