TOURISM LOAD CAPACITY OF THE MINERAL ECOLOGICAL RESERVE OF NUESTRA SEÑORA DE COSALÁ, SINALOA, MÉXICO

Abstract

Hiking is an activity that allows walking around natural spaces and that must be protected for the next generations. The Tourism Load Capacity is not an innovative study for the ecological scope, and it consists in establishing a maximum limit of people who can access a specific natural area daily. A study was performed to determine the load capacity in the Mineral Ecological Reserve of Nuestra Señora de Cosalá, Sinaloa, México, to avoid possible damage to the ecosystem, estimating the physical, real and estimated load in different paths. The results indicated that in the four paths the load was lower than the average visitors registered during the sampling period, which allows authorities to plan and manage the reserve, as well as reorganize the visits to reduce the impact on natural resources which are the basis for the ecotourism activity, and to improve the quality of the visit and satisfaction of the visitor.