Reinforcing Tourism Carrying Capacity Assessments

Abstract

Carrying capacity assessment assists in estimating human intervention thresholds bearable to natural-social ecosystems, specifically in tourism. Earlier studies implemented isolated determining system combinations, namely physical-ecological, socio-cultural, political-economic, and perceptual-psychological, impacting carrying capacity assessments. Results obtained through experts' opinion and systematic literature review meta-analysis suggest a lack of policy-governance components. Imperatively, policy matters governing environmental issues are crucial; especially in tourism, policy-governance systems form holistic components for achieving resilience and enhanced thresholds. This must be well-integrated into the carrying capacity assessment framework, as proposed and outlined as an outcome of this review and in the best interest of society. Validation of the framework using accurate data from the tourism domain through further research will motivate researchers and practitioners.