Potential Ecotourism Site Selection Using GIS and Remote Sensing : The Case of Adwa Town and Geter Adwa Woreda, Tigray Region, Northern Ethiopia

Ecotourism is concerned with safeguarding and sustainable development of the natural environment by implementing low impact tourism and concerned with the benefit of local communities by producing revenue, and it has to be both ecologically and socially aware. Though a new phenomenon, it is one of ever growing sectors of the tourism industry worldwide. In the case of Ethiopia, however, ecotourism's contribution to the national income as a source of revenue and to the state of the atmosphere as a means of safeguarding the natural environment is not worth mentioning. This study, hence, inculcates GIS, Remote Sensing and MCE technologies so as to identify potentially suitable ecotourism sites in Adwa Woreda. Parameters like elevation, slope, vegetation density, LULC, temperature and rainfall were considered and analyzed. Prioritization and ranking of these parameters were generated using weightage overlay technique and finally potentially suitable ecotourism areas were mapped and selected.