The concept of carrying capacity for tourism destinations: Dead or merely buried?

Tourism inevitably impacts upon destinations. One of the central concepts in the management of such impacts is that of carrying capacity. However, this paper argues that destinations have been poorly served by the development of the concept of carrying capacity into growth management techniques such as limits of acceptable change and opportunity spectrums. This is particularly the case for destinations dependent upon natural characteristics for their appeal. The paper argues that adoption of such techniques leads to creeping incremental development and changes the profile of the visitor towards those more tolerant of higher use. The paper argues for a return to the idea of identifying maximum appropriate numbers of users.