Evaluation of Rural Tourism Carrying Capacity Based on Ecological Footprint Model

The evaluation of the environmental carrying capacity of tourism resources has important guiding significance for the sustainable development of tourism. This study uses the ecological footprint index to construct the evaluation model of rural tourism environmental carrying capacity and quantitatively analyzes the impact of rural tourism ecological footprint on the environment, ecological pressure, and the maximum carrying capacity of tourists in Nanyang City (China) from 2011 to 2020, so as to provide a reference basis for local rural tourism planning and ecological environment management. The empirical analysis results show that (1) during the decade 2011-2020, the overall ecological footprint increased by 31.47%; however, the per capita ecological footprint showed a downward trend year by year; (2) in the ten years from 2011 to 2020, although the environmental carrying capacity was in surplus, it showed a downward trend year by year, and the ecological pressure index initially appeared; (3) taking the number of tourists in 2020 as the reference value, the prediction of the ecological pressure of rural tourism environment and the carrying capacity of tourists shows that although the ecological pressure is in a relatively safe state, it will show an unsafe state with the increase of the number of tourists. Based on the above results, it is suggested that local governments and tourism planning and management departments should pay full attention to the adverse impact of tourism development on the environment, strengthen the construction of green transportation, balance the development of tourism resources, scientifically control the number of tourists, improve tourists' awareness of environmental protection, protect the ecological environment of Nanyang City, and realize the sustainable development of rural tourism.