Carrying Capacity in Tourism and its Measurement Methods

Tourism, like any activity, leaves different effects, and sometimes it has left irreparable natural and human damage in tourism areas. Each tourist site has a certain capacity to attract tourists according to its potential and if these limits and thresholds are exceeded, the negative effects of tourism will appear. The increasing development of tourism and the increase in the number of tourists during the past decades have had irreparable consequences for tourism destinations. In the meantime, nature tourism destinations have been damaged more than other attractions due to their fragile nature and the high attention of tourists. This issue has drawn the attention of managers and officials to managing visitors and reducing the effects of these visits. In recent years, various techniques have been presented to manage the effects of visitors, and one of these tools is "carrying capacity". The carrying capacity determines the limits that by crossing it, the destroyed resources or the damage to the ecosystem becomes irreparable.