CARRYING CAPACITY ASSESSMENT OF DIVE SITES IN BALI, INDONESIA

The diving tourism industry in Bali is experiencing rapid growth, and this is important for Bali tourism. To ensure the sustainability of coral reefs as a core attraction for diving tourism, it is necessary to have the policy to control diving tourism activities through the application of the carrying capacity concept. In this regard, the focus of this study is to assess the carrying capacity of dive sites in Bali to support the application of the carrying capacity concept as an instrument for sustainable diving tourism management. The methodology used to assess the carrying capacity was based on the physical and biological conditions of each location and the management capacity provided by destination management authorities and dive operators. The carrying capacity is assessed using the model developed by Cifuentes (1992) which includes three levels, namely physical carrying capacity, real carrying capacity, and effective carrying capacity. The estimated carrying capacity of 12 dive sites in Bali ranges between 81 and 156 divers/site/day. The number of visitors to the most popular dive sites during the peak season is higher than the estimated carrying capacity. It is important to distribute the number of divers to sites where the number of actual visitors is lower than the carrying capacity value to reduce environmental stresses at the sites that exceed the capacity.