29 Pol. J. Sport Tourism 2022, 29(3), 29-35 Introduction Winter tourism is a type of tourism commonly performed at high altitudes of mountains that can receive snow depending on snowfall [1]. It consists of all activities carried out in a certain pe- riod of the year, including transportation, accommodation, eat- ing-drinking, resting, entertainment, traveling, and sight-see- ing in regions with suitable snow conditions and sloping lands for skiing [2]. Every year, 400 million ski lovers from around 80 countries visit ski runs across the world [3]. This profle has gained considerable momentum over the past decade, which is of great importance for the global ski destination market [3]. According to the world ski market report, there are 67 coun- tries ofering equipped outdoor ski areas covered with snow. Although there are several snowfelds across the world, there are approximately 2,000 ski centers. Although the number of annual ski center visits varies depending on weather conditions, there are an estimated 400 million skier visits worldwide. Despite being a middle-belt country, Turkey hosts winter tourism centers of national and international signifcance be- cause of its specifc location. However, today, Turkey gives win- ter tourism prominence with its ski centers including Uludag/ Bursa, Palandöken/Erzurum, Erciyes/Kayseri, Kartalkaya/Bolu and Sarıkamış/Kars. Additionally, the Konaklı Ski Center, which was established in Erzurum within the scope of the 25th World University Winter Games in 2011, has the potential to be an im- portant winter tourism center with many specifc features [4]. According to the data from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Turkey had 29 winter tourism centers in 2020, nine of which were active, seven were partially active, and others were still pro- jects at the design stage. In the literature, there are many studies to determine the factors afecting the selection of winter tourism destinations. A study conducted in 1993 listed the factors afecting desti- nation preferences as ski packages, familiarity, local culture, grooming, closeness to home, lodging, friendly people, crowd- ing, difculty, resort services, entertainment, snow conditions, hill and trail, choice, saving time, saving money, skiing more, social atmosphere, being challenging, ski variety, belonging, achievement, safety, fun, and excitement [5]. Accordingly, dura- tion of snow cover, topographic conditions of ski-run, the num- ber of sunny days, and accessibility in winter tourism centers were determined as important components of ski tourism [6]. Godfrey [7] aimed to determine the factors guiding the choice of ski resort destinations of a group of British skiers in Canada by examining the destinations’ characteristics including snow con- ditions, terrain diversity, entry/exit facilities, access to slopes and accommodation, and they concluded that snow quality and ski area variety were the most valuable features. Riddington et al. [8] found that a skier’s choice of a destination is infuenced by ski destination characteristics (e.g. snow cover, type of ski slopes, and availability of accommodation) and the skier’s char- acteristics (e.g. travel distance, expenditure per day) in their study on Scottish skiers. Findings by the Utah Ski and Snow- board Association [9] indicated that snow quality, proximity and accessibility to the ski site, lift ticket specials, lodging, and nightlife infuence a return to Utah’s ski centers. Won et al. [10] listed the factors afecting people’s choice of ski destinations as snow quality, travel time, cost, roads, and variety of activities. Won and Hwang [11] categorized Korean college skiers and snowboarders and proposed four diferent categories of skiers based on similarities in their preferences for four selection factors including entertainment and safety, ski variety, cost awareness, and time awareness. Falk [12] also re- ported that demand for winter tourism depends on national and international income, prices, transportation, costs, destination, EVALUATION OF SKI CENTERS’ PERFORMANCE USING MULTIPLE- CRITERIA DECISION-MAKING METHODS BURCU ORALHAN 1 , ZEKI ORALHAN 2 , NUR KIRDÖK 1 1 Nuh Naci Yazgan University, Administrative Science 1 , Electrical-Electronics Engineering 2 , Kayseri, Turkey Mailing address: Burcu Oralhan, Administrative Science, Nuh Naci Yazgan University, Ertuğrul Gazi Mah. Nuh Naci Yazgan Yerleşkesi Küme Evler, 38170 Kocasinan/Kayseri, Turkey, e-mail: boralhan@nny.edu.tr Abstract Introduction. This study aimed to determine the criteria for the choice of nine diferent leading ski centers that serve actively in the ski tourism sector of Turkey, to calculate the criteria weights, and to measure the performance of these centers. Material and methods. In this context, the data were defuzzifed using the CFCS method, and the fuzzy DEMATEL method was used to determine the criteria afecting the choice of ski centers. Then, the TOPSIS method was applied to measure the performance of ski centers by using the criteria weights obtained with the fuzzy DEMATEL method. Results. As a result of the analysis, the weights of the main criteria were found as follows: facility amenities, price, accessibility, accommodation, alternative tourism, and visitors’ rating scores. Consequently, the top three ski resorts according to their scores are SC4, SC1, and SC9, respectively. The ski center which is coded SC9 is ranked at the bottom. Conclusions. The study examined the ski centers that actively operate in Turkey. This could be considered as a spatial decision-making problem. This study could be a road map for the per- formance evaluation in ski tourism. Moreover, the results will be benefcial for the ski centers to identify their defciencies and carry out improvement works in attracting the increasing demand for skiing to their centers. Key words: Ski Centers, Fuzzy, DEMATEL, TOPSIS, CFCS, Performance DOI: 10.2478/pjst-2022-0018 Original research papers