Shimla, also known as the “Queen of Hill stations,” is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Himachal Pradesh. Tourism has significantly increased in recent decades, severely threatening its natural landscape. No empirical studies assessed the tourism vulnerability in Shimla based on the analytical hierarchy process as a multi-criteria decision mapping method. Therefore, this study aimed to assess tourism vulnerability in the district by mapping and analyzing the 18 indicators classified under three criteria: a) Exposure (natural hazard, NDVI, elevation, slope, tourism demand, and land use); b) sensitivity (population density, GSDP, marginal workers, forest area, net sown area, and water availability), c) adaptive capacity (medical facilities, road density, accommodation, tourism destination, telecommunication, and electricity availability). The analytic hierarchy process analyzed the assigned weightage to each indicator through a pair-wise comparison matrix. The composite tourism vulnerability revealed that 202 sq. km falls under low, 1501 sq. km moderate, and 614 sq. km high out of a total 5136 sq. km district area. This study will help plan the district tourism development on a priority basis. The district administration can utilize the data to develop a framework for disaster response and preparedness through policies to mitigate the negative impacts of tourism. Lastly, the findings would assist the planners and tourism experts pave a pathway toward sustainable tourism development in the region.