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Aims & Backgrounds Identifying tourism development capacities is an undeniable priority in any country, especially in developing countries. There are various methods for determining such zones. Given the sensitivity of forest ecosystems to human interference, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the ecological potential of Tonekabon forests. Methodology To evaluate the ecological potential of the study area, we used the combination of Makhdoom and FAO model in GIS environment using Layer Overlay (IO) technique and weighting by AHP method. In this study, the importance of the criteria and sub-criteria involved in the evaluation process was determined using experts' hierarchy and the weight of each layer was determined using Expert Choice software. Findings Results indicated that 118.73 hectares of the area is suitable for centralized recreation and 487.72 hectares for extensive recreation and the rest is of conservation value. Conclusion The results of this study showed that the combination of IO with AHP in GIS could well compare and evaluate different layers according to the criteria and be used as a suitable tool by decision makers to determine forest ecological potential for tourism development. The issue can be effective in achieving sustainable tourism development.

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