Recreation carrying capacity estimations to support beach management at Praia de Faro, Portugal

The purpose of this research paper is to outline the theory and practice of tourism carrying capacity assessment and its relevance as a management tool for coastal management. Based on the Tourism Carrying Capacity Assessment for Protected Areas Framework and the Image Capture Technique associated with the PAOT (people at one time) approach, this paper explores Praia de Faro as the study area and attempts to assess the optimum number of people that should be allowed without jeopardizing the surrounding ecological, social and cultural environments. Results showed that the physico-ecological carrying capacity should be between 1385 and 2628 visitors/day with maximum impact acceptability curves being 305 and 608 tourists (for local people and tourists respectively). Although there was a significant difference between the physico-ecological and socio-cultural carrying capacity, this study suggests that the physico-ecological carrying may be applied for ecosystem management, whilst the socio-cultural carrying capacity may be addressed when management objectives are tourists and beach users.

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► We explore carrying capacity as a decision support system for Faro Beach.
► The physico-ecological carrying capacity should be between 1385 and 2628 visits/day.
► The socio-cultural capacity is between 305 and 608 tourists.
► Physico-ecological carrying capacity should be applied for ecosystem management.
► Socio-cultural carrying capacity should be applied for visitors management.