CHAPTER: 2

ECOTOURISM ASSESSMENT: AN
OVERVIEW

Sue Geldenhuys
ECOTOURISM ASSESSMENT
Frameworks have been developed to assist managers in preventing,
combating or minimizing the effects of recreational use on natural
environments.
Carrying capacity (CC), the recreation opportunity spectrum (ROS), tourism
opportunity spectrum (TOS), limits of acceptable change (LAC), visitor impact
management (VIM), visitor activity management process (VAMP), tourism
optimization management model (TOMM).
CARRYING CAPACITY
The central idea is that environmental factors set limits on the population that
an area can sustain. When these limits are exceeded, the quality of the
environment suffers and ultimately, its ability to support that population.
Subdivided carrying capacity as follows:
ECOLOGICAL CAPACITY (ecosystem partners)- to quantify the type and degree
of disturbance that an animal community is receiving from visitors.
PHYSICAL CAPACITY (space parameters)- level beyond which visitor satisfaction
drops as a result of overcrowding.
FACILITY CAPACITY (development parameters) accommodation carrying
capacity is fixed by bed space and transport carrying capacity by the
number of passengers who can be transported.
SOCIAL CAPACITY (experience parameters) host social carrying capacity is
the level beyond which unacceptable change will be caused to local cultural
stability and attitudes towards tourists.
CARRYING CAPACITY = Area use by tourist
Average individual standard

Total daily visits = Carrying capacity x Rotation coefficient

ROTATION COEFFICIENT = No. of daily hours pen for tourism

Average time of visit

Take note of the following:

SIZE OF AREA - some areas may be inaccessible and therefore not
usable.
FRAGILITY OF ENVIRONMENT - the fragility of soils varies widely,
with loose sand being the most vulnerable.
WILDLIFE RESOURCES TOPOGRAPHY AND VEGETATION COVER – wildlife
resources will vary in distribution and diversity according to the season of the
year.
BEHAVIOURAL SENSITIVITY OF CERTAIN SPECIES TO HUMAN VISITS – some
species are especially vulnerable to the presence of visitors.

Social carrying capacities and include:

VIEWING PATTERNS – visitors are never evenly distributed across an area.
TOURIST’S VIEWING CHOICES – these are determined not only by the
availability of species but also the tourist’s interest.
VISITOR’S OPINIONS – present crowding can be obtained from surveys.
AVAILABLE FACILITIES – other quantifiable variables such as available
bed spaces.

RECREATION OPPORTUNITY
SPECTRUM (ROS)
 It promotes recreational diversity that provide a
broad array of recreational opportunities for users.
 TOURISM OPPORTUNITY SPECTRUM
(TOS)
The TOS constitutes a continuum ranging from primitive and undeveloped conditions to
an urban environment which is intensively developed and consists of a human-built
environment.
THE ADVANTAGES OF USING A TOS ARE THAT:
It constitutes a planning and management matrix approach that is both rational and
comprehensive
It indicates what tourism opportunities are already provided or sustained
It links supply with demand in a practical planning process
It provides a framework to evaluate the regional tourism alternatives and consequences
of changing development levels
LIMITS OF ACCEPTABLE CHANGE
(LAC)
Recreation Carrying Capacity (RCC) ‘the maximum
number of people who could use a resource without
damaging the social or biological conditions stated in
the area’s objectives’.
The main difference between the RCC and the LAC is
that in the LAC process, the focus is shifted from the
number of users involved to the degree of change which
is acceptable in each specific zone or ROS class I given
protected area .
THE LAC PLANNING SYSEM CONSISTS OF EIGHT STEPS, NAMELY:
Identification of concerns and issues
Definition and description of opportunity classes
Selection of indicators of resource and social conditions
Specifying standards for the resource and social indicators
Identification of alternative opportunity class allocations
Identification of management actions for each alternative
Evaluating and selection of an alternative
Implementation of actions and monitoring condition

Offers more scope for public participation which is conducive to a consensus-

based planning approach to natural area management.
VISITOR IMPACT MANAGEMENT
(VIM)
VIM is a planning framework that incorporates resource and
visitor management to reduce and control adverse impacts on
outdoor recreational areas and opportunities.
Objects were:
To study existing literature dealing with recreational carrying
capacity and visitor impacts
And to apply this resulting understanding by developing a plan
to manage visitor impacts
VIM DEFINES FIVE SETS OF CONSIDERATIONS
NAMELY:
IMPACT INTERRELATIONSHIPS – do not occur in isolation, but are continuously
interacting.
USE IMPACT RELATIONSHIPS - the amount of recorded impacts although this
relationship need not necessarily be linear.
VARYING TOLERANCE TO IMPACTS – different habitats and user groups respond
differently to the same amount of use.
ACTIVITY –SPECIFIC INFLUENCES – specific activities result in specific type of
impact.
SITE-SPECIFIC INFLUENCES – the time of year and the condition of the site will
determine the amount and type of impacts
 VISITOR ACTIVITY MANAGEMENT
PROCESS (VAMP)
Can contribute to a more integrated approach to management
of protected areas since it is designed to operate in parallel with
the natural resource management process.
VAMP is a proactive, flexible, conceptual framework that
facilities decision making related to the planning, development
and operation of park-related services and facilities.
Tools for managing visitors use of
ecotourism sites
Restricting the amount of use – in order for this to be applied successfully, it is not necessary
either to have and understanding of the real cause of the problems or to get involved in more
direct and active management problems. Various tactics can be adopted to limit the amount of
use:
Restrict entry to an area
Issue a restricted number of permits for campsites, zones or itineraries within the area.
Require reservation
Issue a restricted number or permits sold through a lottery system.
Restrict the size of groups.
Fines and recourse to legal action are necessary management techniques.
Restrict duration of stay by limiting the time of visitors may spend.
Dispersal of use – ecological impacts caused by human activity is often the result of high levels
of use concentration in popular places:

Dispersing on the same site with more distance between them

Dispensing on more sites with or without more distance between them
Dispersing in time (increasing off-season use) with or without changing spatial distribution.
Concentration of use – management concentration of use is a technique frequently used in
campsites and other intensive use areas:

Without changing the number of sites, the distance between parties

Instead of using undisturbed areas, few designated developed areas are used to concentrate
campers, swimmer, boaters etc.
Concentration of use in time
Zoning – to control different uses and separate various types of density of use, allowing for
lower density in areas where more resource protection is desired.
Trail system design – improve the quality of the visitors experience and stimulate “modes of
behavior which enhance the environmental quality of the site”
Low – impact education – to realize the impact management will remain recreational in nature
without educated and caring users.
Visitor fees and charges – it have been gaining increased consideration to capture revenue that
can be channeled back to implement objectives:
◦ Visitor fees – park admissions and trekking fees
◦ Concessions – permission to operate within the location to provide certain services
◦ Sales and royalties – percentage of earnings that have been derived from activities or products at the site
◦ Taxation – extra cost imposed on goods and services that are used by tourists
END