A Strategic Approach to Sustainable Tourism Development Using the A’WOT Hybrid Method: A Case Study of Zonguldak, Turkey

Abstract

Nowadays, tourism-led economic growth has become a major outcome of the public policy. Researchers have recently begun to address the development of tourism from a perspective that is based on economic, cultural, social, and environmental sustainability. This paper aims at presenting a strategic approach that can help to develop sustainable tourism at touristic destinations. In order to pursue our aim, the A’WOT (AHP-SWOT) hybrid method, developed in combination with SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis and the AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) method, was used. SWOT analysis was used to determine the significant strategic factors, and the AHP method was applied to prioritize these factors. The province of Zonguldak, located in Northwest Turkey, was chosen as the research area to suggest tourism strategies that can be sustainable by means of the application of the A’WOT method. Proposed strategies for the research area are related to product diversification and event management, the image of the destination, a sustainable visitor management system, promotion and branding strategies, partnerships, and cooperation. The results illustrate that the dependent economic structure may be broken down with the development of the tourism industry and, therefore, that some strategic initiatives are required to achieve sustainable tourism in the province.