EVALUATION OF THE CARRYING CAPACITY OF FIREFLY TOURISM TRAILS IN NANACAMILPA, TLAXCALA

The conservation of forest ecosystems through ecotourism is one of the options that provides social, environmental and economic benefits. When an ecotourism destination development, it is important to carry out studies that generate information for long term-planning of environmental management and to preserve the conditions necessary for sustainable development. In the last three years, the number of visitors to the area has increased. In 2015, the flow of visitors was 71 636, an of increase 27% compared to 2014. In 2016, a flow of 90 000 tourists was recorded, reflecting an increase of 26% over 2015. The objective was to calculate the carrying capacity of the for firefly viewing trails in Nanacamilpa, Tlaxcala, to determine the appropriate number of tourists for the existing infrastructure based on the methodology proposed by Cifuentes. This methodology allows determining how many people can visit a site without damaging the habitat. In the 2016 season, an average of 1 200 visitors per day were received, and the study showed a maximum of 466 visitors allowed per day in all trails, indicating that the resilience of the ecosystem is being exceeded. It was found that the current number of visitors exceeds the optimal carrying capacity, putting at risk the conservation of the natural phenomenon and having a social impact because of the number of visitors who require local services for which the current infrastructure is not sufficient.