Deciphering Coastal Vulnerability Index (CVI) for the coastal areas of Rhodes Island and the possible impact on tourism

Rhodes Island, located in the southeastern Aegean Archipelagos. Coastal areas, extended sandy beaches, people’s hospitality, and adequate infrastructure are principal factors that have increased the touristic value of the island. The estimation of the Coastal Vulnerability Index is important, since coastal environments play an important role for the tourist decision. Coastal systems are the most sensitive in environmental changes. In this study CVI is used, in order to indicate the most vulnerable areas, through the interpretation and the calculation of various parameters. The data for the calculation of the CVI were mainly geomorphological, as long as fieldwork and laboratory analysis. The data were interpreted through GIS platform. GIS environment contributes to the simultaneous processing of all these data, the representation of the spatial distribution of these parameters, and finally to depict of the most vulnerable areas. Thus, these results will contribute to the most suitable, sustainable solutions for the decision making authorities.