Abstract

ANZALDUA-SOULE, Karla Rosalba; SALDANA-ALMAZAN, Mirella  and  ALMAZAN-ADAME, Arely Adriana. Sustainable tourism carrying capacity. The case of El Veladero National Park, Acapulco, Mexico. CienciaUAT [online]. 2023, vol.18, n.1, pp.125-140.  Epub Sep 29, 2023. ISSN 2007-7858.  https://doi.org/10.29059/cienciauat.v18i1.1750.

Natural Protected Areas (NPAs) are demanded by visitors who seek to live experiences with environmental quality and contact with host communities. For this reason, its tourist use must be of low impact and project a harmonious development of natural resources. The objective of this work was to determine the tourism carrying capacity of a trail in el Veladero National Park, which enables a reduction of the impact of recreational activities and stop environmental deterioration. The methodology was based on documentary research, and the analysis of the social and environmental conditions of the park, which enabled the calculation of the tourism carrying capacity (TCC). Results showed that the physical carrying capacity (PCC) was 1 988 visitors, the real (CCR) was 34 visits, and the effective (ECC) 11 visits per day, which must be respected so as to not negatively impact the environmental quality. Conclusions indicate that it is advisable to implement actions that enable the development of sustainable tourism, which is in line with the natural conditions of the site. In a similar vein, respecting the social and cultural traditions of the host community, will enable the longterm preservation of the studied NPA. The calculation of the TCC has been proved useful for tourist use, without negatively impacting the environment or the generation of economic benefits for the host community in the studied area.

Keywords : tourism carrying capacity; natural protected areas; sustainable tourism use.