MCDM Approach Combining DEA and AHP Methods in Sustainable Tourism: Case of Serbia

Abstract

This paper focuses on the workforce capable of implementing new trends through the application of environmental tourism and IT knowledge. Multi-criteria optimization methods such as Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) were used to solve a particular and sensitive business decision problem. A unique questionnaire on five global trends - renewable energy growth, pollution, electrification, cloudification, data boom and smartization - was developed to assess the capabilities of potential candidates in relation to environmental issues in tourism and to determine whether they are able to solve tasks in a sustainable way. This paper proposes an approach for the selection of candidates for sustainable and green tourism. From 200 candidates, data collected in a northern region of Serbia in the fall of 2023, the model resulted in the 5 best alternatives under 5 criteria. The final solution was the alternative/candidate B with the consistency index 0.03. The intention was that by combining AHP and DEA methods to evaluate efficiency, the subjectivity of decision making in the selection of candidates would be minimized. The new value of this work could be that advanced technologies are integrated into sustainable tourism in a practical and scalable way, and that methods for evaluating and implementing the technologies in question are developed. This could form the basis for future research and practical applications.