Evaluation Method and Impact of Clean Energy on the Ecotourism Competitiveness of Townships

Tourism is often criticized for contributing to global warming due to its high energy consumption and carbon emissions. However, only limited studies provide precise assessments of its environmental impact. The integration of clean energy adoption with ecotourism offers promising opportunities for sustainable development of rural townships. We propose a comprehensive evaluation framework to assess how clean energy initiatives influence ecotourism competitiveness. A thorough literature review establishes the theoretical link between clean energy adoption, environmental sustainability and tourism development. The framework combines quantitative and qualitative indicators to measure the effectiveness of clean energy projects in enhancing ecotourism potential. Three multi‐criteria decision‐making methods, namely fuzzy Delphi method (FDM), analytic network process (ANP) and DEMATEL, are employed to evaluate and prioritize the indicators. Additionally, the framework incorporates qualitative assessment of policy support, stakeholder participation and community engagement in clean energy planning and implementation. By integrating statistical evaluation with contextual insights, the proposed approach provides a holistic understanding of how clean energy deployment can strengthen ecotourism competitiveness and support sustainable rural development.