8. Visitor Management

The objective of this module is to explain why and how to manage and monitor visitors in a protected area.

About this course

Tourism is an important topic for protected areas because, on one hand, visitors are increasingly interested in natural values, and on the other hand, protected areas must showcase their values in terms of education and raising visitor awareness. However, a protected area must have rules to ensure that visitors do not damage habitats, species, and ecosystems. This module provides information about visitor management and explains the concept of carrying capacity. Furthermore, useful tools for developing visitor monitoring are described. With the knowledge from this module, a protected area management team should be able to implement visitor monitoring in their site.

Lessons in this module:

1. Background  
2. What is Visitor Management for?  
3. Environmental carrying capacity  
4. Visitor monitoring