Carrying capacity assessment for tourist destinations. Methodology for the creation of synthetic indicators applied in a coastal area

The growth and expansion of tourism is a complex phenomenon and its study requires multiple disciplines. When related to sustainability, the growth limits and carrying capacity of destinations must also be considered. The objective of this article is to develop a methodology to assess the growth limits of tourist destinations, and this method is then applied to the management and planning of an open tourist resort. The limits to growth are established using a mathematical formulation (i.e., multicriteria analyses, based on the reference point methodology) based on synthetic indicators applied to two scenarios: weak and strong sustainability. There are two developments in this type of research. The first is that the application of this method is neither restricted to a natural protected area, which has its own rules and management, nor to an island possessing geographically controlled entry and exit points. Rather, this study focuses on an open coastal area with an economy based on mass tourism. Second, this new way of assessing growth limits uses a flexible formula – adaptable to other coastal areas, e.g., rural, natural, and urban – depending on the impacts generated by the tourism and the objectives specified by destination managers.

► We develop a methodology to assess the growth limits of destinations.
► The growth limits uses a flexible mathematical formulation (multicriteria analyses).
► The study focuses on an open coastal area based on mass tourism.
► The goal is to revive the present debate on growth limits in destinations.