Tourism Carrying Capacity in Coastal Destinations: An Assessment in Mazatlán, Mexico

Pedro Alfonso Aguilar Calderón, Beatriz Adriana López-Chávez (), Nadia Ilenia Peinado Osuna, Edgar Omar Burgueño Sánchez, José Alfonso Aguilar-Calderón and Jesús Alberto Somoza Ríos
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Pedro Alfonso Aguilar Calderón: Facultad de Ingeniería y Tecnología de Mazatlán, Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa, Mazatlán 82017, Mexico
Beatriz Adriana López-Chávez: Escuela de Turismo Mazatlán, Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa, Mazatlán 82017, Mexico
Nadia Ilenia Peinado Osuna: Escuela de Turismo Mazatlán, Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa, Mazatlán 82017, Mexico
Edgar Omar Burgueño Sánchez: Facultad de Ingeniería y Tecnología de Mazatlán, Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa, Mazatlán 82017, Mexico
José Alfonso Aguilar-Calderón: Facultad de Informática Mazatlán, Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa, Mazatlán 82017, Mexico
Jesús Alberto Somoza Ríos: Facultad de Ciencias Económico Administrativas de Mazatlán, Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa, Mazatlán 82017, Mexico

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 14, 1-30

Abstract: Tourism management in coastal destinations is vital to guide activity towards sustainable practices that ensure lower social and environmental impacts with greater benefits for the local community and experiences for tourists, especially in mature destinations where the main product is the beach. The aim of this research is to calculate the Tourist Carrying Capacity (TCC) of a stretch of beach in Mazatlán, Mexico, under past, present, and future scenarios, under different intensities of use. The main findings indicate that by 2025 the Effective Carrying Capacity (ECC) is 19,644, 29,822, and 4911 users with intensive, medium, and low occupancy levels, respectively. A decrease of −30.63% was found between the Effective Carrying Capacity of the 2025 scenario with respect to 2005 and a decrease of −68.90% is predicted for the year 2050 with respect to the current one, indicating an accelerated trend in the decrease of physical space and, therefore, greater pressure on the coastal ecosystem in case the trend of tourists goes upward, without being sustainably managed. These results are useful for agencies involved in beach and tourism management in mature coastal destinations.

Keywords: tourism carrying capacity; sustainable tourism; tourism management; coastal destination (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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