Using spatial information to aid decision-making: Case study of developing a participatory geographic information system for regional tourism planning

Electronic interfaces enable spatial information acquired from many sources to be aggregated and visualised to meet end user requirements. Any associated group decision-making, however, often requires tedious discussion, debate, negotiation and compromise before participants reach a mutually agreed decision. This paper examines at the integration of spatial information to assist the decision-making process using a participatory geographical information system (PGIS) developed for regional tourism planning in Queensland, Australia. The PGIS facilitates group consultation and decision-making through a transparent process of visualising areas valued by participants, either individually or combined. It aggregates both quantitative and qualitative spatial information using multi-criteria evaluation and standardised geometric and algebraic mean information layers to aid discussions and decision-making. The paper demonstrates how the PGIS provides a versatile tool for individual analysis, heuristic exploration or to facilitate a cooperative consultation environment. In the consultative process, it is assumed that understanding other people's values and identifying areas that concur or conflict are crucial for participant collaboration, to synergise and to reach a Mutually beneficial outcome.