Carrying Capacity and Restricted Models in Marine Tourism

The rapid expansion of coastal and marine tourism has intensified ecological pressure on vulnerable marine ecosystems, highlighting the growing need for effective visitor regulation and carrying capacity management. Although Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and nature-based tourism initiatives have expanded globally, a systematic understanding of how visitor restriction frameworks are conceptualized and implemented remains limited. This study presents a systematic literature review (SLR) of 39 peer-reviewed articles published between 2010 and 2025 that explicitly address restricted or limited-entry marine tourism. Following the PRISMA protocol, the review applies domain classification, frequency mapping, Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA), and UpSet analysis to examine interactions among ecological, socio-cultural, economic, and governance dimensions. Results indicate that the vast majority of studies adopt a multidomain perspective, with Governance & Policy most frequently integrated with Ecological-Environmental approaches. Through qualitative synthesis, six recurring categories of visitor-management mechanisms are identified: spatial zoning, carrying capacity, behavioral-educational measures, governance and justice arrangements, economic incentives, and technological-adaptive systems. Spatial zoning and technological-adaptive approaches emerge as the most frequently discussed strategies, whereas quota-based and economic instruments remain comparatively underexplored. The findings reveal a persistent imbalance between ecological regulation and socio-economic integration, underscoring the need for adaptive cross domain governance frameworks that link ecological indicators with social, economic, and policy instruments

Corporate governance · Marine conservation · Marine spatial planning · Sustainability · Systematic review · Tourism · Visitor pattern · Zoning · Coastal and Marine Management · Cruise Tourism Development and Management · Diverse Aspects of Tourism Research