Rehabilitación turística y capacidad de carga en Cozumel : propuesta metodológica

The topic of sustainable development for tourism has created great interest in the non-governmental sector (NGO’s). In 2004, the World Tourism Organization developed a model of indicators for the sustainable development of tourism destinations to describe the impact of tourism activities. However, the optimum use of natural and cultural resources is a critical factor in an integral progress of tourism so that tourism rehabilitation and carrying capacity are considered key elements for sustainable tourism development. The benefits of tourism should be recognized as well as its destructive role, because natural landscapes and local cultures are converted through tourism into economic resources. It is therefore important to identify and measure the consequences of the modification and rehabilitation of the landscape. Studies of carrying capacity provide the information about the tourism destination to help in the planning process for the sustainable development of the activity, particularly in sensitive environments like Cozumel Island.