1. Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Gharhwal University, Srinagar
(A Central University)
Centre for Mountain Tourism & Hospitality Sutdies
M.B.A. (Tourism) IIInd sem
Batch (2013-15)
SUBJECT-SOCIAL CARRYING CAPACITY
Submitted to Submitted by
Dr. RAKESH Dhodi SAURAV RAWAT

2. SOCIAL CARRYING CAPACITY
SUBMITTED BY
SAURAV RAWAT

3. What is Carrying Capacity?
• Refers to the number of individuals who can
be supported in a given area within natural
resource limits, and without degrading the
natural social, cultural and economic
environment for present and future
generations.

4. What is Carrying Capacity?
• The maximum number of people that may
visit a tourist destination at the same time,
without causing destruction of the physical,
economic, socio-cultural environment and an
unacceptable
• decrease in the quality of visitors'
satisfaction”.
- WTO

5. Tourism Impacts

6. Social Carrying Capacity
• The negative socio-cultural
related to tourism development.
• Reduced visitor enjoyment and
increased crime are also
indicators of when the social
carrying capacity has been
exceeded.

7. • Social carrying capacity is used
as a generic term to include
both the levels of tolerance of
the host population as well as
the quality of the experience
of visitors to the area.

8. Levels of capacity for the components
may be expressed in terms of-
• Number of tourists and tourist/recreation
activity types which can be absorbed without
affecting the sense of identity, life style and
social patterns and activities of host
communities,
• Level and type of tourism which does not alter
significantly local culture in direct or indirect
ways in terms of arts, crafts, belief systems,
ceremonies, customs and traditions,

9. • Level of tourism that will not be resented by
local population or pre-empt their use of
services and amenities.
• • Level of tourism (number of visitors and
compatibility of types of activities) in an area
without unacceptable decline of experience of
visitors

10. Social carrying capacity relates to
the reaction of the local people to
the tourist development of the
place, which should never be
negative

11. Positive Socio-cultural Impacts
 Education and training
 Enhanced quality of life
 Pride
 Socio-cultural awareness
and peace
Education and training
• Provides opportunity for
locals to learn new skills
and qualifications
• Skills and qualifications
are essential in tourism
industry
• Staff training and
development within
organizations
– e.g. customer services, IT
etc
11

12. Enhanced quality of life
• Positive economic impacts of
tourism effect the quality of life
locals will experience
• Increase in tourist spending in
tourist destination leads to an
increase in disposable income for
locals
• Public sector investment in an area
can improve local infrastructure
(roads, facilities etc)
Pride
• Increase in local pride as:
– more tourists visit a destination and
– as increase in investment into local
area
• Pride in local traditions, customs,
culture, food, crafts, ceremonies
etc
• Can renew interest in host
population’s culture
Socio-cultural awareness and peace
• Tourism allows people to
understand and learn about new
cultures and experiences
• Learning about a culture ‘first
hand’ can increase a better
understanding of different
backgrounds and heritage
• Can benefit both the locals and the
tourists
12

13. Negative Socio-cultural Impacts
Commodification
 Crime
Demonstration effect
 Displacement
 Economic
 Exploitation
Commodification
• Turning a product or
service into something
different in order to please
the tourist
• Performances and
ceremonies are
commodified (made more
attractive and dramatic) in
order to appeal to tourists
• Not representing the true
culture of the locals
– Also known as ‘staged
authenticity’
13

14. Crime
• Where there are more
tourists, crime rates are
higher
• Tourists are ‘easy targets’
for thieves
– Tourists carry a lot of
valuables when travelling
– Appeals to poor locals who
cannot afford these goods
• Tourists may also become
involved in illegal
experiences
– Prostitution and drugs etc
– Tourists therefore help to
develop the illegal industries
Demonstration effect
• Locals observe tourists and
try to copy (emulate) them
• This can be in terms of:
– Behaviour, culture, clothes,
food etc
• Leads to a loss of identity
and culture
– More apparent in younger
generations
– ‘Westernisation’ – western
culture favoured over other
local cultures
14

15. Displacement
• Development of tourism
areas can lead to an area
becoming too expensive for
locals to continue living
there
• Land needed for large
constructions can also
move local inhabitants
– Governments believe that
the tourism infrastructure
will outweigh the need for
displacement
Economic
• Increase in prosperity
within host population can
lead to new social classes
• Can create tension
between:
– Locals
– Locals and tourists
– Migrant workers and locals
• Resources become more
expensive:
– Cost of living increases e.g.
foods, service, housing etc
– Causes resentment between
locals and tourists
15

16. Exploitation
• Employment opportunities
may seem exciting to begin
with but may become a
negative socio-cultural
impact
• Some companies may
exploit (abuse) local
populations for their own
benefits through:
– Child labour
– Forced labour
– Cheap labour
so that the large
corporations reap most of
the economic benefits
• DOXEY’S IRRITATION INDEX
(IRRIDEX)
• Created in 1975
• Designed to measure a host
population’s perception of
tourists as a destination
develops over time
• Linked to Butler’s Tourist
Area Life Cycle
16

17. CONCLUSION
• The primary objective of sustainable tourism development
concerns enhancing the welfare of those affected by it,
through increased economic opportunity, preservation of
the local community’s cultural and natural heritage, and an
enhanced quality of life. In this sense then, sustainable
strategies look to identifying and managing acceptable or
desirable social and biophysical conditions–the output of
tourism development. Implementing a management
strategy that specifically identifies these conditions and
establishes explicit standards of quality will be
more efficacious than relying on numerical carrying
capacities. Such capacities are oriented toward
manipulating use levels that may or may not be related to
sustaining desired conditions. While in some cases carrying
capacities for facilities(e.g parking lots, theatres)maybe
identified, these capacities are largely a function of
investment.