1. TOU101 INTRODUCTION TO TOURISM
CARRYING CAPACITY

2. TOU101 INTRODUCTION TO TOURISM
Definition of carrying capacity:
"Tourism Carrying Capacity" is defined by the World Tourism Organisation as “The maximum number of people that may visit a tourist destination at the same time, without causing destruction of the physical, economic, socio-cultural environment and an unacceptable decrease in the quality of visitors' satisfaction”.

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The dynamics of carrying capacity
Carrying capacity is an extremely fluid dynamic concept.
If, for example, a small island destination goes from 100 to tourists in the space of a year it is likely that the socio-cultural, economic and environmental impacts will be devastating.

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Take the same destination and increase the volume of tourists by the same amount over a 50-year period and the impact is likely to be far less. People become accustomed to change — it does not make the change any less but it does it more acceptable.

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Types of carrying capacity
Physical
Environmental
Economic
Sociocultural
Infrastructure
Perceptual

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Physical
Physical capacity is the number of people that can be physically accommodated in a given area or site.
Example: how many people would be packed on the beach, shoulder to shoulder.

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Environmental
Environmental capacity is the number of people an area or site can accommodate before damage to the physical environment begins to occur.
Example: footpath erosion or disturbance to the habitat of wildlife.

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Economic
Economic capacity is the number of tourists an area or site can absorb before the economic life of the local community begins to be adversely affected.
Example: traffic congestions slowing down business-related journeys.

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Sociocultural
Sociocultural capacity is the volume of visitors that can be accommodated before the host community society/culture begins to be irreversibly affected by the impact of the tourist.
Example: change in migration patterns

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Infrastructure
Infrastructure capacity is the number of tourists that can be received before the infrastructure becomes incapable of coping adequately.
Example: sewage system, water services, airports, ports etc.

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Perceptual
Perceptual capacity refers to the number of people an area or site can absorb before the quality of experience for the tourist is adversely affected.
Example: on a romantic beach for a couple, this could mean the arrival of a third person

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Factors determining the carrying capacity
Local Factors
social structure
cultural heritage
environment
economic structure
political structure
resources

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Social structure
For example, the social structures of London and Sydney are more able to absorb and tolerate the presence of tourists than in smaller cities because they are larger in population and cosmopolitan in structure, making them more adaptable to change. Smaller cities have relatively small populations and they are not as cosmopolitan in structure.
In general, the smaller local population, the more dramatic will be the social impact of tourism, particularly if that tourism is based upon large-volume tourist flows.

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Cultural heritage
The more unusual the cultural background, the more attractive a destination may become to potential tourists and the more unusual the background, the more likely it is to be adversely affected by the presence of tourists.

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Environment
The environment will be changed by the presence of tourists no matter how sympathetic they may be or how careful the tourism activity is planned.
Environment: Artificial or Natural
Artificial: more resilient to tourism impacts
Natural: not so resilient to tourism impacts

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Economic structure
The more developed and industrialized the economy, the more adaptable it will be to the changes brought by tourism.
Tourism rapid development brings with it the economic problems associated with migration from rural to urban areas and the transfer of labour from traditional industries to tourism and its related industries.

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Political structure
The political structure can affect the impacts of tourism and its carrying capacity in a number of ways:
Political instability will discourage tourists and therefore limit tourism development.
Some groups of tourists are more sensitive to political insatiability than others but few tourists are unaffected by the prospect of political instability.
The political structure may also have direct influences upon tourism development if it is decided that tourism development should be constrained or even discouraged.

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Resources
The availability of local resources (labour, capital, land, etc.) is likely to have a major influence on the acceptability and desirability of tourism development, and even on the form that development takes.
Where resources are scarce, competition for them will be high and the prices of using these resources for tourist purpose will be higher.

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The local infrastructure is also part of the resource base. If tourism development means that the local infrastructure will be over-utilised then this will create a capacity constrain.
If the infrastructure is over-utilised because of tourism development then this may well breed resentment and hostility among the local population and then the social impact of tourism will create a carrying capacity constraint.

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Alien factors
Tourist characteristics
Mass tourists are more likely to have a greater social and cultural impact than culture and adventure tourists.
Mass tourists- demand Western amenities and bring their culture with them without adapting to the local norms and customs.
Culture and adventure tourists- tend to be far more sympathetic towards local customs and traditions and actively seek them out as part of their vacation experience.

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Types of tourist activity
The presence of certain activities, such as gambling, can bring specific social problems (prostitution, drugs and crime etc) and stresses that are far greater in magnitude than those associated with the same number of tourists undertaking different activities.
Destinations with very fragile ecosystems or with, say, rare bird species may suffer more severely at the hands of the special interest groups who would actively seek out and disturb the habitats, albeit unintentionally.

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Planning
Planning is concerned with the organisation of factors in order to manipulate future events. The management of tourism is the process by which plans are put into practice.
Technology
Changes in technology will have direct and indirect effects on the difficulties associated with the planning and management tasks.