PUNTO O UMBRAL CRÍTICO DE TOLERANCIA DEL TURISMO

Algunos apuntes sobre el tema, retomados de la literatura:

“Los impactos del turismo son el resultado de una compleja interacción de fenómenos… Los impactos de turismo (analizados) como una interacción entre los turistas y el área de destino y su población. Los subsistemas económico, social y medioambiental del área de destino tienen unas determinadas capacidades de carga. La magnitud y la dirección de los impactos turísticos está determinada por los límites de tolerancia de cada uno de estos subsistemas. Serán positivos los impactos que no excedan estos límites y negativos los que traspasen el umbral de tolerancia y, por consiguiente, desborden la capacidad de carga.” (Picornell, 1993: 68).

“...What is the critical level of tolerance and how can it be determined?

The concept of social carrying capacity is an increasingly important concept
in the tourism literature. It is used in reference to questions
 such as the aforementioned that concern “sustainable tourism.” Social carrying capacity, as Boniface and Cooper (2005: 33) define it, is “a measure of the ability of the host community to tolerate tourism.”
 It varies from one destination to another according to the following factors: First, social carrying capacity is influenced by differences in terms of culture and 
economic conditions between tourists and the host population; host populations usually show greater tolerance to those tourists who are closer to them in appearance, economic characteristics, culture, and language (Mathieson & Wall). As Reisinger (1994) argues, the larger the distance between the host population and tourists the more noticeable will be the sociocultural impacts. Second, social carrying capacity varies according to the extent to which the tourist destination and the host population are capable of absorbing tourist arrivals both physically and psychologically without overwhelming local facilities and services (Lundberg, 1974: 85). Third, social carrying capacity is influenced by the speed and
 intensity of tourism development, as well as the approach used. For example, when tourism is integrated gradually into an established economy, the sociocultural impacts are generally insignificant. On the other hand, various undesirable sociocultural impacts are unavoidable when tourism replaces an established economic activity in a shorter period of time (Wall & Mathieson, 2006).” (Zaidan & Kovacs, 2017: 296)

Fuentes:

Picornell, C. (1993). Los Impactos del Turismo. Papers de Turisme, (11), 83-90.

Zaidan, E., & Kovacs, J. F. (2017). Resident Attitudes Towards Tourists and Tourism Growth: A Case Study From the Middle East, Dubai in United Arab Emirates. European Journal of Sustainable Development, 6(1), 291-307.