Abstract
The present study focuses on finding potential sites for ecotourism development using GIS and remote-sensing-based weightage sum overlay techniques in Western Rajasthan, India. Ecotourism is one of the fastest growing and revenue-making sectors incorporating a sustainable future. Western Rajasthan has a broad scope to develop tourism-based activity in various ways, mainly through cultural heritage, historical and archaeological wonders, and rare wildlife. Weightage sum overlay analysis is a useful and simple tool to compare each thematic layer. These values are based on various factors and understanding taken during the study. For this purpose, different data types have been taken from the USGS website. Arc GIS 10.8 and ERDAS Imagine software 2015 have been utilized to process the data. This research incorporates seven thematic layers, i.e., elevation, proximity to streams, land use/cover, population density, road connectivity, proximity to protected areas, and heritage hotspots. Based on the physical and cultural characteristics of Western Rajasthan, the weightage of each thematic layer has been decided, which is finally overlaid using Arc GIS software. After processing all the thematic layers, we finally get an outcome in the form of a suitability map. The final suitability map represents five suitability classes that divide the total area into the following categories, very high (37.31%), high (26.85%), moderate (7.89%), low (0.83%), and very low (27.12%), which represents the potential of ecotourism in Western Rajasthan.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 11473 |
| Journal | Sustainability |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue number | 14 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jul 24 2023 |
Bibliographical note
KAUST Repository Item: Exported on 2023-07-28Acknowledgements: The APC was partially funded by the scientific project “Determining the potential of watercourses for the production of electric energy from micro, mini, and pico hydropower plants” in 2023. year, funded by University North. This research is supported within the scientific project “Application of modern technologies and smart sensors in geomatics”, as well as “Determining the potential of watercourses for the production of electric energy from micro, mini, and pico hydropower plants”, both in 2023 year, from the University North, Croatia. The authors express deep gratitude to Shruti Kanga and Suraj Kumar Singh for their invaluable contributions towards the success of this research paper. Their insightful discussions and comments were instrumental in shaping the direction of this study and in ensuring its overall quality.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
- Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law
- Geography, Planning and Development
