Video #17 Three Tourism Carrying Capacities (10 narrated slides, 7:00)
Channel: Stan McGahey
Date: 2015-05-04

Link: https://youtu.be/jy43DXPaaJo Slide #1: Welcome to video #17 of my presentations that attempt to “demystify tourism”.  I’m Dr. Stan McGahey, the creator and narrator of the videos. Their content is based on my experiences worldwide as a professor, consultant, writer, manager, and tourist in more than 80 countries on 6 continents. Slide #2: Tourism’s carrying capacity has its roots in agriculture: how many cows can graze in a pasture.  If a farmer puts too few cows in the pasture, he has grass, water, and space going to waste.  But, if he puts too many cows in the pasture, they won’t get all they need to grow, and produce, milk and beef properly. For optimal return, the farmer must keep a sharp eye on his cows and the condition of the pasture, and manage them carefully.  The same is true with tourists, and their activities at the attractions and facilities that are developed for them. Slide #3: The three carrying capacities, most commonly associated with tourism productivity, are physical, social, and environmental. They apply to the quality, quantity, and type of interaction, between tourists, and the people and places they visit. The carrying capacity of a destination, is the total of the carrying capacities of its various attractions, facilities, and infrastructure. Most destinations, want to attract more tourists and increase their length of stay for optimal economic benefits.  But, at some point, “Enough is enough”. Slide #4: The physical carrying capacity of a destination addresses its size limits, which dictate the number of visitors that can be accommodated at any one time. Examples are: size of a beach for sunbathers, number ski lifts on a mountain, parking lot spaces for tour buses, number of hotel rooms and restaurant seats, and number of tickets that can be sold to a concert or sporting event.  Once these limits are reached, there is simply no more space available. In this regard, the physical carrying capacity also serves as a visitor management tool. Slide #5: A destination’s social carrying capacity, concerns both tourists, and locals.  For tourists, it’s the number of visitors, an area can accommodate, before it gets too crowded for a specific activity, and the satisfaction level drops.  For locals, it’s the number of tourists a destination can absorb before they begin to overwhelm, and adversely affect, the local culture. Slide #6: The environmental carrying capacity is AKA the ecological, or, biological carrying capacity. It’s the number of visitors, and everything that is developed to attract and service them that an area can accommodate, before its ecological system begins to suffer irreversible damage, due to overuse.  All industries have impacts, so sometimes the question becomes: would you rather have a new chemical factory in your community, or an all-inclusive resort.  To avoid exceeding the environmental carrying capacity, it’s important to establish indicators, monitor variances, and make the necessary changes to adjust, a destination’s ecological footprint. Slide #7: Determining, the carrying capacity for a destination, involves many factors, including the individual characteristics of a destination, such as the number of visitors, the types of use by various visitors, and the amount of use by average visitors.  Many of these concerns, can be controlled by proper resource management, and facility design.  Carrying capacities are fluid.  So, whenever any of the many variables involved in determining the carrying capacity changes, the entire area’s carrying capacity, experiences a corresponding change. Slide #8: With a density of one person square kilometer, a visitor will enjoy a near-pristine environment.  At 10 persons per square kilometer, a visitor is less likely to be alone or see wildlife.  At 100 persons per square kilometer, the area will be devoid of most wildlife, and suffer from pollution, and ecological damage.  At 1,000 persons per square kilometer, the natural environment, becomes overwhelmed by people, and takes on the characteristics of a city, with the need for ranger patrols, and trash removal services. Slide #9: Tourism planning must address the scale of tourism desirable within the local culture and environment. The limits, set should be supported by scientific and social research, because most developers and politicians favor bigger and bigger developments. Cancun is frequently cited as a destination that has exceeded its social and environmental carrying capacities, to the detriment of the community. Slide #10: Distributing tourists and their activities over a larger area, can sometimes be more harmful to the environment, than when they are concentrated, in a smaller area, with appropriate carrying capacity limits. So, there are many indicators to examine and monitor, when setting carrying capacity thresholds, for a specific destination. Now, I invite you to watch Video #18: Tourism Values, Philosophy, and Vision.  Thank you!