CALCULATING THE TOURIST
CARRYING CAPACITY OF A DESTINATION

The continuous increase of tourism flow in urban destination could create undesirable effects concerning the decline of population, changes in tradition, changes in community cohesion, pollution, congestion and other negative impacts on residents. All these factors explain why local governments today are increasingly struggling with the choice of restricting the number of tourist presences, even though aware that an excessive reduction in visitor numbers can also negatively affect the monetary gain of the local tourism sectors. How to determine and achieve the "best" compromise between these two opposite needs is one of the ultimate goals pursued by studies on tourism carrying capacity (TCC) and various policies experimented by many destinations affected by over-tourism. Calculating the carrying capacity of a tourism destination using a linear programming method is a process that follows these operative steps:

1. identify the tourism sub-systems of a destination, especially regarding tourism facilities and services;
2. classify the type of users are often utilizing those sub-systems;
3. determine the level of usage of these sub-systems by user profile;
4. lastly proceed with the quantitative analysis with the fine scope to maximize the revenue of the destination through understanding the daily expenditure per each profile.

Real tourism flow

To compare the optime number of users in a destination with the reality, please fill the three circle with the corresponding number of tourists and day visitor per day.

Hotel
tourists

B&B, Airbnb
tourists

Day
visitors

Total 0

Tourism sub-systems and utilization rate

Set the limits and the utilization rate of every sub-system.

?

Number of beds in hotel facilities (from 1 to 5 stars) in the historical centre of Venice area.

Accommodation sector - Hotel

Hotel tourists +

B&B, Airbnb tourists +

Day visitors

<

?

That sub-system includes the number of beds available for tourist in official extra-hotel facilities (B&B, Hostels, Vacation rentals, ect.) and unofficial facilities (number of available beds in the listing of Airbnb platform) in the historical centre of Venice.

Accommodation sector - B&B, Airbnb and similar

Hotel tourists +

B&B, Airbnb tourists +

Day visitors

<

?

It’s the number of sitting places in restaurants, pizzeria, and dining rooms in historical centre of Venice. It has been calculated asking the capacity of the room (number of sits) and the number of lunch services/shifts.

Food and Beverage facilities - Restaurants

Hotel tourists +

B&B, Airbnb tourists +

Day visitors

<

?

It is the number of available parking place in the historical centre of Venice (4 parking) and the parking place of the principal gateways to Venice (3 parking in Mestre).

Mobility - Parking facilities

Hotel tourists +

B&B, Airbnb tourists +

Day visitors

<

?

It has been calculated taking in consideration the total capacity of people per two type of public transportation boat per the number of line and shift passing through the Gran Canal from 8 to 20.

Mobility - Public transportation

Hotel tourists +

B&B, Airbnb tourists +

Day visitors

<

?

This is the daily rate of waste production in Kilograms imputable of tourists in historical centre of Venice.

Environment - Waste management

Hotel tourists +

B&B, Airbnb tourists +

Day visitors

<

?

It has been referred to maximum number of people can stay in Sant Mark’s Square for security reasons.

Attraction - cultural site

Hotel tourists +

B&B, Airbnb tourists +

Day visitors

<

More sub-systems (such as natural attraction, squares, stations, ports, etc.)

Hotel tourists +

B&B, Airbnb tourists +

Day visitors

<

More sub-systems (such as natural attraction, squares, stations, ports, etc.)

Hotel tourists +

B&B, Airbnb tourists +

Day visitors

<

More sub-systems (such as natural attraction, squares, stations, ports, etc.)

Hotel tourists +

B&B, Airbnb tourists +

Day visitors

<

x

Usage rate

Daily expenditure per type of users

Fill with the daily average expenditure per tourists and day visitors

Results

Press compute and see the optimal level of tourist flows in your destination.

Category	Calculated	Real	Real/ Calculated	Result
Hotel tourists
B&B, Airbnb tourists
Day visitors
Total

Press 'Continue' to discover the Alter Eco measures for the sustainability of your destination.

CALCULATING THE TOURISTCARRYING CAPACITY OF A DESTINATION

Real tourism flow

Tourism sub-systems and utilization rate

Daily expenditure per type of users

Results

Measures and problems

CALCULATING THE TOURIST
CARRYING CAPACITY OF A DESTINATION