Tourism accommodating capacity assessment of Nha Trang Oceanography Museum, Khanh Hoa Province

Abstract

Nha Trang Oceanographic Museum is a popular tourist destination, attracting a large number of domestic and foreign tourists for entertainment and learning of scientific knowledge and the value of marine and island resources. However, recent increase in tourism activities has also caused some certain consequences to the capacity to serve visitors, infrastructure and environmental landscapes. The purpose of this article is to assess the tourism accommodating capacity of Nha Trang Oceanographic Museum, and on this basis, propose a number of solutions for management to promote sustainable tourism development. The article uses quantitative research methods with a formula for calculating tourism carrying capacity that has been applied in many related studies. The calculation results show that the potential and actual tourism carrying capacity of Nha Trang Oceanographic Museum does not exceed the allowable capacity even during peak tourist season. However, in order to improve the tourism accommodating capacity for Nha Trang Oceanographic Museum and to develop tourism services in a sustainable direction, it is necessary to improve the infrastructure, create more attractive tourism products, strengthen cooperation with tourism organizations and travel companies, and expand and strengthen more educational and propaganda activities about the sea and islands.