Carrying capacity assessment and sustainable tourism management in Agra city, Uttar Pradesh (India)

Abstract

The issues of tourism sustainability and management have become main concern for tourism industry of Agra city. Presently, tourism becomes global activity and impact worldwide, therefore it is a requirement for sustainable tourism management and it is possible through calculating carrying capacity. This study explores present tourism status of Agra city and its problems. The main aim of the study is to disclose carrying capacity of Agra city and prepare the sustainable development plan for tourism sector. The uniqueness and assessment of this study is based on empirical research with the help of a field survey. Evaluating Carrying capacity of Agra by DPSIR Model (Drivers, Pressures, State, Impacts, and Responses) which is develop by the European Environmental Agency, which highlights critical links and relationships between human activities, pressures on the environment and impacts on ecosystems (European Environment Agency, 1999). Calculating, physical, environmental and social carrying capacity of Agra exposes the pressure on city and future scope of tourism development. The poor carrying capacity of Agra, lead to poor satisfaction level of visitor at Agra city that damage its status around the world. The output of study support forthcoming researches in the area of managing sustainable tourism development.