Reframing carrying capacity: A visitor-oriented approach

Abstract

The study proposes a novel approach to reframing tourism carrying capacity, emphasizing visitor utility as an independent dimension for destination management. To investigate how overtourism affects visitor utility, the study focuses on Venice, Italy—a destination currently suffering from overtourism. Utilizing visitor-generated content along with city-provided visitor and amenity data, the study estimates district-level visitor densities relative to geographical area, resident population, and tourism amenities and examines their effects on visitor sentiment. The results reveal an inverted U-shaped relationship between visitor density and sentiment, clearly distinguishing moderate crowding from overcrowding effects. Additionally, the findings highlight that these effects are particularly pronounced in Venice's historic center and among visitors with higher levels of social orientation and perception sensitivity.