Assessing The Environmental Performance of Top Tourist Destinations Based on CRITIC - TOPSIS Model

Tourism and the environment are closely interlinked in a reciprocal relationship. As environmental concerns become increasingly central to global tourism agendas, assessing the ecological performance of leading destinations is essential. This study aims to evaluate the environmental performance of the world's top 15 tourist destinations and determine their sustainability-based competitiveness. The Environmental Performance Index (EPI), which includes 11 categories, was used as the main data source. To ensure objectivity, the CRITIC method was employed to calculate the weights of the criteria, and the TOPSIS was used to rank the countries based on their environmental performance. The findings reveal that air pollution, fisheries, waste management, and water and sanitation infrastructure are the most influential criteria in distinguishing environmental performance across countries. According to the TOPSIS results, Japan, the United Kingdom, and France ranked highest in environmental performance, while Mexico, Türkiye, and Malaysia ranked lowest. The results highlight significant differences in environmental policy effectiveness and infrastructure quality among the countries.