Module 5
5.
Tourism carrying capacity
a. It is a well-known fact that tourist activities sometimes have negative effects on natural,
social and economical aspects of a certain place, which have consequently brought about a
need for preventing them. Namely, these effects are normally associated with the number of
tourists that visit a certain tourist destination. This correlation makes for probably the most
complex concept in tourism theory and practise also known as carrying capacity.
b. The problem of defining the notion of carrying capacity used to be rather difficult, and
various authors and institutions were using their own definitions. One of these accepted
definitions says that “carrying capacity“ stands for the maximum number of visitors to a
certain tourist destination without having any negative impacts on the environment or the
undesirable decrease in the quality of visitors’ satisfaction. According to the World Tourism
Organization the carrying capacity is fundamental for environmental protection and
sustainability. Namely, it stands for the maximum number of people that may visit a tourist
destination at the same time, without causing destruction of the physical, economic, sociocultural environment and an unacceptable decrease in the quality of visitors' satisfaction.
c. The concept of carrying capacity was adapted from range management and was applied to
recreation management in the early 1960s. The focus is on determining the level of use
beyond which impacts exceed acceptable levels specified by evaluative standards. This
stems from the fact that carrying capacity is not a homogenous notion, but rather manifests
itself in four basic levels, which are therefore analyzed as four different types of carrying
capacity:
•
Ecological carrying capacity relates to the maximum use of a tourist resource
without causing any harm to the environment;
•
Social carrying capacity relates to the reaction of the local people to the tourist
development of the place, which should never be negative;
•
Psychological carrying capacity relates to the quality of visitors’ satisfaction with
a certain tourist destination, which is not to be decreased;
•
Economic carrying capacity relates to the level of acceptable dependence between
the local economy and the level of the tourist development of a place, which should never
become too heavy
d. The final carrying capacity of a tourist destination is a resultant of the four
aforementioned types of carrying capacity that are all inter-dependable. However,
sometimes they are completely opposite.
e. In practice, carrying capacity has proven to be a methodology that cannot be applied
accurately to tourism scenarios. While perceived to be scientific, several criteria of carrying
capacity are subjective. The concept that tourism impacts can be measured to reach fixed
impact thresholds which can be evaluated as ‘in excess’ of a measurable carrying capacity
has proven to be erroneous. In reality, tourism impacts can rarely be put into the context of
fixed biological parameters. Conditions change from site to site, impacts are highly variable
depending on the volume of tourism from year to year and there is no straightforward
correlation between the many variables that cause tourism impacts and resource degradation
over a period of time. Rather than seeking to measure and re-measure impacts according to
the variability of tourism flows, monitoring is more productive if it seeks to maintain an
acceptable balance from the point of view of the stakeholders between all uses including
tourism, environment and society, as all the methodologies referenced here have embodied
in their approaches.
f. The final outcome depends on several factors that work in different forming levels, and
can be put into two large categories. The first one includes local factors: social structure,
cultural heritage, environment, economic structure, political structure and resources; whilst
the second one includes side factors: tourists’ characteristics, types of tourist activities,
planning, various influences, parameters, standards, as well as carrying capacity.
Local factors
g. Social structure of a destination is a key factor when it comes to defining a certain impact.
For example, some communities are able to tolerate great number of tourists while others
cannot. More specifically, it has been thus concluded that smaller local communities often
experience rather dramatic social consequences once the tourism development occurs.
h. Cultural heritage of a destination is extremely important if one needs to determine its
carrying capacity. The more valuable cultural heritage, the more attractive the destination,
which means bigger number of tourists. Hence, a large number of tourists also means greater
chances of damage to the place. The environment itself can be preserved in a lower or a
higher degree. The less preserved environment means that it is more adaptable to tourism
and tourist activities. Also, ecological changes are inevitable and will be much more obvious
in the areas that are less polluted.
i. Economic structure determines the benefits and the value of tourist activities. In fact, the
economies that are more developed and industrialized are generally more adaptable. If an
economic structure faces an increase and is more diverse, it also means better qualified
workers.
j. Political structure can have impact on tourism and carrying capacity in many different
ways. For example, political instability in a country dissuades tourist arrivals and therefore
obstructs tourism development. On the other hand, political openness can induce greater
openness of a society for tourism development, which then has considerable impact on the
carrying capacity.
k. Resources (work, capital, country and other) and their availability on a local level can
have certain impact on the desired direction of tourism development. So, if the resources are
meager, the competition between them will be stronger and the prices of using these
resources for tourist purpose will be higher.
Foreign factors
l. Characteristics of tourist visiting certain destination are an important factor in determining
social and cultural impact on local communities. Tourists belonging in mass group have
more impact than groups of researchers/explorers or adventurists. Difference between
tourists and hosts is also important. The big difference between them, in communal and
cultural sense, implies higher impact and changes.
m. Type of tourist activities is closely related to characteristics of the tourist participating in
them. Negative activities require clear responsibility of the carrying capacity in limiting this
kind of events.
n. Planning, management and technology are interested in organizing factors related to
defining future events. More successfully planed and organized tourism implies less
damaging effects and broader scope of carrying capacity.
o. Impact on social, ecological and economic structures is a result of local and foreign
factors, organized through planning and management of the tourist destination.
p. Parameters can be defined as changes that take place at specific location through local and
foreign factors, again, as a result of different levels and types of interactions.
q. Standards can be regarded as acceptable limit of applied parameters. They indicate the
value of achievement with host, as well as with tourist population, with respect to accepted
level of variable change and without damage done, and the one that tourist can produce.
r. Carrying capacity is dependent variable, which is not determined by the presence of tourist
exclusively. Dynamics of the essence of carrying capacity is based on the tolerance change
of each of the defined factors as a result of management. Supporting capacity significantly
improves destination management by introducing innovations into tourism planning.
Circumventing the supporting capacity will render tourism development impeded and result
will be unsustainable tourism development.
s. Carrying capacity is not simply the number of tourist who will not deteriorate certain
tourist destination. Classification of its development in eight phases serves as a testimony to
that fact:
- determination of management standard for destination or tourist resource that will be
supported and types of tourist experience being planned;
- determination of time interval for the supporting capacity being defined(hour, day,
week, month);
- determination of indicators for ecologic, socio-cultural, psychological and economic
components;
- defining limits of sustainable levels for each indicator;
- establishing obvious co-relations between levels of indicators and levels of use;
- determining management strategy which will enable the supporting capacity to be
respected.
t. Following the principal of the ideal tourist state in a certain location, carrying capacity is
not merely one of the key mechanisms in tourism planning but has been recently analysed as
a standard of sustainable tourism.