Application of AHP in evaluating the relative importance of selectivity factors in migration destination decision with reference to the Klang Valley, Malaysia

Migration behaviour is complex not least because decision making regarding destinations is influenced by multiple factors. Thus, the pattern of migration behaviour can only be estimated through understanding the relative importance of selectivity factors influencing the destination decisions. The literature provides several techniques that may be used to evaluate this relative importance of multiple factors in the decision problem. The AHP (Analytical Hierarchy Process) is one widely used technique in the Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA). This article discusses the application of AHP for evaluating the migration decision-selectivity factors in Malaysia’s urban Klang Valley. It was found that affordable housing was a key AFH factor that determined migrants’ destination decisions with a weightage of 0.272 followed by destinations with good physical environment (0.213), destinations with congenial sosial and community life (0.170), destinations with proximity to work place (0.086), and destinations with new housing (0.039). Such findings would be helpful to urban planners in their quest to further improve urban planning and urban liveability.