GIS APPROACH IN TOURISM MANAGEMENT IN NATIONAL PARK BERCHTESGADEN (BAYERN, GERMANY).

This paper examines and reflects on GIS approach in management of environmental impacts of tourism. We stress that the focus is on National park Berchtesgaden as a case study for this research, and accept at the outset that the approaches discussed are necessarily partial and would only form part of a wider sustainability assessment. However, we argue that the selected approaches are useful in assisting with the different organizational challenges and questions facing nature protected area managers who wish to understand the environmental consequences of tourism. Environmental impacts are analyzed through their indicators. The paper shows how GIS has been used to assess the environmental impacts of tourism in the National park Berchtesgaden, and then examines overlapping of layers and input of environmental indicators to provide useful insights into understanding the environmental effects of tourism within the nature protected area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]