Towards an Indicator-Based System to Assess Tourism Carrying Capacity and Tourism Sustainability: An Overview

Abstract

The indicators of sustainable tourism and Tourism Carrying Capacity (TCC) are closely linked and often interconnected. While sustainable tourism indicators are designed to assess the overall impact of tourist activities on environmental, sociocultural, and economic dimensions, carrying capacity indicators should mainly focus on the maximum number of visitors a destination can sustainably accommodate. TCC involves determining the maximum number of visitors an area can host without compromising the quality of the tourist experience or causing significant harm to the environment, local culture, and available resources. In this work, some case studies will be examined, such as those concerning the cities of Venice and Barcelona, where the issue of exceeding carrying capacity has led the local population to protests and uprisings. The study's main objective is to provide an overview of empirical studies that concretely measure carrying capacity in specific destinations and indirectly assess tourism sustainability.