محمدعلی مفید

Tourism is one of the most important sectors of the world economy. Yet, despite having promising touristic attractions, such as pristine nature and ancient historical monuments, Afghanistan lacks a proper plan and infrastructure for tourism development. Although political issues have been the most significant barriers to developing tourism, the lack of correct understanding and introduction of Afghanistan's potentials has also played an important role in the backlog of the tourism sector. This study attempts to introduce the cities that have the potential to attract international tourists. First, the influential factors in attracting international tourists were discussed using library research. In the next step, the prioritization of Afghanistan's historical cities was carried out with the aim of attracting international tourists using expert assessment and the VIKOR technique. According to the findings of this study, the criteria for attracting international tourists are classified into four groups: a) socio-cultural factors, b) natural conditions, c) accommodation and equipment infrastructures, and d) communication and information infrastructures. The top seven cities in Afghanistan are Herat, Kabul, Mazar-i-Sharif, Kandahar, Bamyan, Ghazni, and Jalalabad.