Buddhist Ruins of Takht-i-Bahi and Neighbouring City Remains at Sahr-i-Bahlol

Leveraging neural networks to model tourist behaviour for sustainable heritage conservation

A significant finding from this study is that ecological and socio-cultural factors play the most pivotal roles in sustaining UNESCO World Heritage Sites, particularly those in Pakistan. The research leverages artificial neural network (ANN) algorithms to analyze tourist satisfaction data collected from 417 national tourists across six heritage sites, including the Buddhist Ruins of Takht-i-Bahi and Sahr-i-Bahlol. Using a five-point Likert scale, the study identifies that while ecological perspectives are most influential in achieving sustainability, socio-cultural factors also have a notable positive impact. Economic factors, however, were found to be the least influential. This data-driven analysis offers valuable insights for policymakers, providing a foundation for economic modeling, preservation strategies, marketing, and policy implementation aimed at enhancing sustainable heritage conservation.