Introduction to Tourism
and Hospitality Studies
General Approaches to
Assessing Carrying Capacity
And its limits of acceptable
change
,1. THE CONCEPT OF CARRYING CAPACITY
- The term derives from ecological science indicate
the maximum population density for a given species in an
environment without degradation of that environment.
- In broadest sense, carrying capacity is a measure of
the natural and artificial limits to development beyond
which significant harm will occur.
- Carrying capacity is being used as a management
tool in land use planning, growth management, fisheries,
aquaculture, tourism, etc. to control their adverse
impacts.
- In coastal regions, carrying capacity can be used, for
example, to assess the effects of development on:
* natural factors such as groundwater supply or
wetland productivity.
* artificial factors such as sewage treatment,
roadway and bridge capacity for evacuation in case of
storm hazards.
2
, - There is no standard ways of conducting carrying
capacity analyses and no universally accepted
guides to how to do it (American Planning
Association, 2001)
- Adapted to tourism management: Carrying
capacity is ability of a destination to
accommodate:
* the number of visitor
* the quality of the visitors' satisfaction. (WTO,
1981)
* tourism development (WTO, 1992)
without detrimentally affecting the environment
and its resources, or effecting a decline in visitor
satisfaction (WTO, 1992).
3
and Hospitality Studies
General Approaches to
Assessing Carrying Capacity
And its limits of acceptable
change
,1. THE CONCEPT OF CARRYING CAPACITY
- The term derives from ecological science indicate
the maximum population density for a given species in an
environment without degradation of that environment.
- In broadest sense, carrying capacity is a measure of
the natural and artificial limits to development beyond
which significant harm will occur.
- Carrying capacity is being used as a management
tool in land use planning, growth management, fisheries,
aquaculture, tourism, etc. to control their adverse
impacts.
- In coastal regions, carrying capacity can be used, for
example, to assess the effects of development on:
* natural factors such as groundwater supply or
wetland productivity.
* artificial factors such as sewage treatment,
roadway and bridge capacity for evacuation in case of
storm hazards.
2
, - There is no standard ways of conducting carrying
capacity analyses and no universally accepted
guides to how to do it (American Planning
Association, 2001)
- Adapted to tourism management: Carrying
capacity is ability of a destination to
accommodate:
* the number of visitor
* the quality of the visitors' satisfaction. (WTO,
1981)
* tourism development (WTO, 1992)
without detrimentally affecting the environment
and its resources, or effecting a decline in visitor
satisfaction (WTO, 1992).
3
