Social Comfort Within Natural Tourist Attractions: A Case Study of Visitors to Hanging Rock, Victoria

Increasing tourist numbers raise dilemmas for managers of natural tourist attractions. When attractions can sustain the physical or ecological impact of visitors, the issue for managers surrounds the number of visitors that can be accommodated before the experience provided by the attraction is compromised. This issue can be resolved through determining the attraction's social carrying capacity (SCC). However, studies have demonstrated that SCC varies among users, across locations, and over time. Consequently, the debate continues as to whether the concept is of practical use for tourism and recreation managers. In light of this debate, this paper reports a case study examining visitor perceptions (N=385) of a popular natural tourist attraction. To determine SCC, relationships among density, crowding, satisfaction, and waiting were examined using a range of parametric and non-parametric statistical procedures. Significant interrelationships were found among all variables (p<.05). No relationship was found between visitor density preferences and times visited. Applying these findings, maximum visitor numbers were argued for based on the proposed social comfort level (SCL). Practical implications for implementing the SCL are discussed with future research strategies outlined.