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Sammanfattning: The aim of this paper was to analyse how stakeholders such as municipalities and tourism operators at small-scale destinations strategically work to handle issues regarding carrying capacity in order to protect the social sustainability. The paper examines the world heritage site Cinque Terre in Italy, which has experienced a major change in tourist flows during the last decade. The comprising five villages have a limited capacity, predominantly due to their small-scale and fragile environmental structure. The increase in mass tourism has caused severe crowding and overloading of the villages. This, in turn, has led to the destination suffering from negative social effects such as exodus, frustration and dejection of locals caused by an uncontrolled tourism development. The empirical research shows a lack of communication between public and private operators in Cinque Terre. The lack of communication together with an absence of clear policies and guidelines for destination management creates both political and social fragmentation, which in turn results in economic leakage. Furthermore, collaboration is of importance in order to find a balance between being both a tourist destination and a residential area. By illustrating strategies for how a small-scale destination with a limited capacity can use carrying capacity as a tool for sustainable tourism development, this study offers a deeper understanding for the importance of implementing policies to improve and protect the social environment. The study proposes limitations of visitors as a strategy to decrease overcrowding and thus improve the social situation in the villages. Another strategy is to map down visitor groups through technology, using a mobile app to control the fluxes. By developing strategies for de-marketing, destinations in situations like Cinque Terre’s can eventually decrease tourist demand. Furthermore, the study resulted in carrying capacity being a complex tool with several aspects to consider. The study also resulted in the importance of a mutual vision for the future of both private and public operators in order to handle the phenomena of carrying capacity.