A GIS-Based Assessment of Urban Tourism Potential with a Branding Approach Utilizing Hybrid Modeling

Urban tourism has developed into one of the most efficient and effective economic and recreational activities in the modern era since the late second half of the twentieth century. Although attention to urban tourism development is increasing, this paper indicates that no comprehensive study has yet combined the two subjects of tourism development and branding for spatial modeling. Thus, for assessing urban tourism potential (AUTP), a novel hybrid modeling approach combining K-mean, fuzzy logic, and an artificial neural network (ANN) was used. The findings indicate that in Tabriz metropolis, areas 3 and 7 and the southwestern portion of region 6 have the most significant potential for urban tourism. In contrast, areas 4, 8, and 10 located within the worn-out urban fabric have the least potential for tourism. Subsequently, by examining the correlation between urban tourism conditioning factors (UTCFs) and tourism maps, it was determined that factors including distance from the catering centers, distance from the fault, quality of construction materials, distance from the historical centers, distance from the health centers, maximum temperature, and distance from the parking are the most critical in terms of increasing urban tourism's potential and branding. The analyses conducted in this study provide valuable and practical information for developing future strategies urban tourism. To this end, recommendations have been made to enhance tourism destination service delivery and management through branding.