Mapping the attractiveness of globally important agricultural heritages to digital nomads: a stakeholder-driven, multi-criteria evaluation framework

Abstract Global agricultural heritage systems (GIAHS), recognized for their biocultural significance, is facing a critical challenge of balancing preservation with development. Despite digital nomads’ potential to generate low-impact heritage revitalization, current research lacks robust methodologies to globally quantify compatibility between agro-cultural assets and digital nomads’ needs. This study pioneers the Digital Nomad-Friendliness (DNF) Index, a stakeholder-driven, multi-criteria framework that spatially evaluates the attractiveness of 86 GIAHS sites to digital nomads. Integrating natural, cultural, and socioeconomic dimensions through hybrid AHP-CRITIC weighting, the index reveals a dominance of biocultural capital: natural landscapes (51.0%) and cultural value (27.9%) outweighing economic factors for digital nomads. Results show significant spatial polarization, with High-DNF sites in East Asia and Western Europe achieving balanced development, while low-DNF African sites face affordability-authenticity traps. The framework positions GIAHS as sustainable digital nomad hubs, offering a novel tool for adaptive governance that reconciles heritage conservation with economic-cultural co-benefits in the Anthropocene.