assessment and prioritization of urban tourist attractions for developing urban tourism based on multivariate decision criteria (a case study of sanandaj)

particular factors play major roles in the development of urban tourism. cities with a plethora of tourist attractions and facilities often attract a large number of tourists. therefore, to pave the ground for developing urban tourism facilities, first it is essential to identify attractions and resources and then to assess and prioritize them. the existence of various attractions and the geographical location of sanandaj can play a significant role in the development of the city. in this study, using analytical hierarchy process, we have examined various tourist attractions of sanandaj in cultural-historical, man-made and natural classifications. after forming a group, setting the targets and establishing criteria, sub-criteria and options which lead to a hierarchical structure, these criteria, sub-criteria and options have been given points, drawing on figures, data, field studies and opinions of the decision-making group which comprised tourism officials in sanandaj. ec software has been used to analyze and prioritize the city’s tourist attractions. the findings suggest that cultural and historical attractions of sanandaj have a higher priority than other ones for development and planning. the used model has a 0.08 consistency, indicating the accuracy of calculations and results of the prioritization.