Understanding the impact of tourism on the Galapagos Islands
Marshalling the power of UNC’s research breadth and expertise

Since 2011, the Center for Galapagos Studies (CGS) has marshalled the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s research strengths to address the complex human and environmental pressures in the Galapagos archipelago, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and birthplace of evolutionary science.
The archipelago’s growing local population and burgeoning tourism trade have created ongoing tensions between resource conservation efforts and economic development. In 2007, the Galapagos Islands were labeled “at risk” by the United Nations from threats associated with population growth.
UNC and their partners at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ) work on a series of studies to address the social and ecological stability of the Galapagos Islands.
In 2013, Ron Rindfuss, the Robert Paul Ziff Distinguished Research Professor of Sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, asked Carolina Demography to develop population projections to better understand the potential impacts of tourism on the Galapagos Islands, as well as the long-term sustainability of tourism development.
After conducting a literature review, we acquired and cleaned demographic and tourism-related data. We then created six population projections based on different growth models that took historic trends, state government goals, and potential development strategies into account.
The results were presented to the President of the Galapagos Islands, other members of the state government, and members of the Galapagos National Park and Ministry of Tourism during a presentation on the potential impacts of tourism on long-term population growth and sustainability in the Galapagos Islands.
“Everybody was really happy with the results and my feeling is that they will want more of this type of study,” said a collaborator on the project.
Center for Galapagos Studies
To develop six population projections to better understand the potential impacts of tourism
In recent weeks, we’ve received many data requests from journalists and community leaders across North Carolina about the state's foreign-born population. This heightened interest is largely driven by concerns about how the new presidential administration’s policies may affect North Carolina.…
Breast cancer is the most diagnosed cancer in women and second leading cause of cancer-related death after lung cancer. One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer within their lifetime, and one in 43 will die from breast…
In light of Veterans Day on Monday, November 11th, we are providing some statistics about North Carolina’s veteran population. The last profile on the demographics of NC Veterans was published in May 2021. This updated post provides key information on…
Your support is critical to our mission of measuring, understanding, and predicting population change and its impact. Donate to Carolina Demography today.