Impact of Population Growth in the Central Coastal Zone of Chile: Factors for Estimating Tourism Carrying Capacity Based on the Case Study of One Latin American Seaside Resort

El Quisco is a district and popular seaside resort on the coast of Chile that has suffered the effects of the growing demand for second homes and tourism activities. The district has the fourth highest influx of a floating population in the region, which has had numerous impacts on the district at several levels. The objective of this article is to examine the issue of carrying capacity in Chile and its public management at the local level. To this end, this research developed an exploratory and instrumental case study. Carrying capacity problems were first identified in the existing literature. This information was subsequently complemented with more local information by means of: analysis of territorial planning instruments (TPIs) relating to the district; participative workshops with municipal government stakeholders; and, lastly, confirmation of the problems identified through correlation analysis of available historical data. The main result of this research was the determination of carrying capacity issues in El Quisco. This broadly coincides with indications from the existing literature and TPIs, while factors identified by local stakeholders are territory-specific, giving rise to new measurement variables. It was possible, in turn, to rule out certain carrying capacity issues perceived by the community.