Genetic algorithm based fuzzy time series tourism demand forecast model

Purpose – Many studies have proposed variant fuzzy time series models for uncertain and vague data. The purpose of this paper is to adapt a fuzzy time series combined with genetic algorithm (GA) to forecast tourist arrivals in Taiwan. Design/methodology/approach – Different cases are studied to understand the effect of variation of fuzzy time series order, number of intervals and population size on the fitness function which decreases with increase in fuzzy time series order and number of fuzzy intervals, but do not have marginal effect due to change in population size. Findings – Results based on an example of forecasting Taiwan’s tourism demand was used to verify the efficacy of proposed model and confirmed its superiority to existing models providing solutions for different orders of fuzzy time series, number of intervals and population size with a smaller forecasting error as measured by root mean square error. Originality/value – This study provides a viable forecasting methodology, adapting a fuzzy time series combined with an evolutionary GA. The proposed hybridized framework of fuzzy time series and GA, where GA is used to calibrate fuzzy interval length, is flexible and replicable to many industrial situations.