Tourists Carrying Capacity Tool
Explore the sustainable visitor capacity of any coastal stretch in Greece, considering both organised beach use (e.g., beach bars) and independent beachgoers.
Explore the sustainable visitor capacity of any coastal stretch in Greece, considering both organised beach use (e.g., beach bars) and independent beachgoers.
Draw a polygon or choose a predefined beach area to begin your assessment.
The tool automatically retrieves ecological and spatial data including Natura 2000 status, habitat sensitivity, and coastal characteristics.
The system calculates Physical, Real, and Effective Carrying Capacity and presents results through a simplified scoring framework.
Understanding the pressure that beach tourism puts on coastal nature is essential for sustainable management.
The Carrying Capacity Tool helps decision-makers, communities and researchers visualize the interaction between ecological sensitivity, legal constraints, and visitor use patterns so that beach management can be evidence-based and transparent.
Maximum number of visitors an area can physically accommodate based on beach size.
Physical capacity adjusted for biodiversity constraints (e.g. buffers, protected species zones).
Real capacity further adjusted for management limits (facilities, access, infrastructure).
Satellite & Land Cover Data: helps define vegetation and built zones
Natura 2000 Boundaries & Habitats: ecological sensitivity layers
Ecological & Regulatory Layers: Natura 2000 areas, protected species and habitats, Untouched Beaches, and other relevant management designations.
User Inputs: beach boundary, average stay, service hours
BlueCoast combines open-access European and national geospatial datasets with ecological, regulatory and infrastructure information to support its three analytical components: Tourism Carrying Capacity (TCC), Coastal Vulnerability Index (CVI), and Socioeconomic Vulnerability Index (SocCVI).
| Data / parameter | Main source | Use in BlueCoast |
|---|---|---|
| Coastal elevation and slope | Copernicus DEM (27 m) | CVI / SocCVI |
| Shoreline migration / erosion | EMODnet Geology (2007–2017) | CVI / SocCVI |
| Coastal landform and geology | EMODnet Geology | CVI / SocCVI |
| Tidal range / shoreline information | EMODnet | CVI / SocCVI |
| Wave climate | ERA5 reanalysis (2016–2023) | CVI / SocCVI |
| Sea-level rise projections | IPCC AR6 | CVI / SocCVI |
| Population density | Eurostat Census Grid 2021 (1 km²) | SocCVI |
| Land use | CORINE Land Cover 2020 | TCC / SocCVI |
| Roads and transport infrastructure | OpenStreetMap | TCC / SocCVI |
| Cultural heritage | UNESCO / OpenStreetMap | SocCVI |
| Natura 2000 sites and habitats | Natura 2000 / European Environment Agency | TCC |
| Caretta caretta nesting areas | ARCHELON and other available georeferenced records | TCC |
| Pancratium maritimum occurrences | GBIF and available habitat records | TCC |
| Blue Flag beaches | Blue Flag registry | TCC |
| Untouched beach designations | Greek national designation | TCC |
| Beach geometry and temporal parameters | User input | TCC |
For integration within the analytical framework, spatial datasets were preprocessed, rasterized where required, and harmonized to a common 30 × 30 m working grid. Raster-based analyses were performed within a consistent 300 m coastal buffer, while individual model parameters were reclassified or normalized according to the requirements of each analytical module. Quality-control procedures were also applied to identify null values and edge anomalies before integration.
The harmonization of datasets to a common 30 × 30 m working grid enables different spatial layers to be integrated and compared consistently. However, resampling or rasterization does not increase the original spatial resolution, accuracy, or information content of the source data.
The datasets used by BlueCoast originate from different sources and therefore vary in spatial resolution, temporal coverage, completeness, and update frequency. For example, some physical datasets provide information at relatively fine spatial scales, whereas socioeconomic information such as population density is available at a coarser 1 km² resolution. Similarly, some ecological, land-use, and regulatory layers represent conditions at a specific point or period in time and may change as new surveys, inventories, or legal designations become available.
BlueCoast outputs should therefore be interpreted as screening and decision-support information rather than as a substitute for detailed site-specific surveys or assessments. Results are most appropriate for identifying relative patterns, potential constraints, and areas where further investigation may be required. Where higher-resolution or more recent local data are available, these should be considered for site-specific management and planning decisions.
The platform is designed to allow its underlying datasets and analytical components to be progressively updated as improved information becomes available.