An Operational Non-compensatory Composite Indicator: Measuring Sustainable Tourism in Andalusian Urban Destinations

Abstract

The use of sustainable tourism composite indicators to evaluate and plan tourist activity is a widely accepted international practice. However, there is not unanimity with respect to the most appropriate aggregation methodology to define these global measurements. In this point, the methods based on the use of multicriteria decision-making techniques are considered the most suitable. Non-compensatory multicriteria aggregation procedures stand out among them. The composite indicator using these procedures has a main problem: the computational aspects. To solve this problem, in this paper we define a new computational approach to the non-compensatory composite indicator problem based on the construction of a mixed-integer linear programming model. The analysis of the binary variables introduced facilitates the disaggregation of the composite indicator to explain the position of each destination, to identify benchmarks and to formulate action strategies with objective goals. To illustrate the potential of the proposed procedure, an empirical study is presented for the case of the urban destinations of Andalusia (Spain).