Carrying Capacity of Destination with Respect to the Host Attitude & Perception (Case Study: the City of Kelardasht)

This study investigates the Carrying Capacity of Kelardasht as a Destination based on the Host attitude and perception. A survey of 314 residents of Kelardash in three different group include: residents, entrepreneurs and public sector providers, show that respondents supported the current magnitude of Tourism and favored its expansion. Despite this, there is a significant difference in Host attitudes toward two types of Tourists in the area, so that the Host attitudes toward second home Tourists is completely negative and it is positive toward overnight Tourists. Therefore the Carrying Capacity of case study has different position with regard to two types of Tourism, so that with regard to Second Homes, the Carrying Capacity of study Area has reached on its threshold and this position for overnight Tourists hasnt confirmed. The results show that there is a direct relationships between the attitudes of Host Community(as a key factor in determining the carrying capacity of a destination) and one's individual benefits of Tourism, one's attitude to the future of destination influenced by Tourism and dependence of destination to Tourism.