Welcome to the forum @RayW
You are correct , these preferences are not visible to potential sitters . This includes other information that you would have selected when creating your listing such as how long your pets can be left alone for . This is also not seen by sitters .
According to THS it’s just for their own data collection .
For anything like this that is a requirement for you I suggest that you add it to your listing in the first sentence - so that only sitters who are local apply .
By far the majority of sitters on THS exchange free pet care for a travel experience so won’t be looking for local sits . However there are exceptions.