Organização sócio-espacial do turismo de Aracaju/SE : a governança como diferencial competitivo

Abstract

The analysis of the constitutive elements of the tourism space production and consumption system with its fixed objects supporting the travelers and the tourist flow itself is fundamental for understanding the complexity of the tourist phenomenon. The points of convergence between the main production agents involved (companies, tourists, governments and communities) should guide the planning strategies of tourism activity, therefore, incorporate this work that aims to analyze the socio-spatial organization of tourism of Aracaju focus on governance as a competitiveness dimension. Its scope was motivated by the specific objectives of discussing the developments of tourism public policies; analyze the interactions between the integral parts of the Aracaju tourism system; characterize the conditions of competitiveness of the Aracaju destination from the dimensions of the project destinations inducing national tourism; propose alternatives for monitoring and controlling tourism development based on governance. The work was structured with reflections on the fundamental concepts of socio-spatial tourism research, governance and competitiveness, as well as the analysis of geographic categories in the orientations and criteria of public tourism policies. Then, the theoretical and methodological foundations that underlie the research were approached, having as main element the qualitative investigation with the theoretical principle of the systemic analysis associated with the geography of tourism. As a type of research we opted for participant observation that allowed an immersion in the relationships established by individuals in the tourism production chain, both in meetings of the established governance, as well as in events promoted by the official tourism agencies and other institutions related to tourism. Among the techniques used are: bibliographic research, documentary research, field research and application of interviews, through which it was possible to organize a theoretical framework of the discussions related to the guiding themes of the research, to access technical and legal documents related to the production of tourism. Aracaju, visit tourist areas and executive agencies that promote space interventions, and allow the recall of production agents who, in some cases, for more than three decades have been involved in tourism planning and development. Among the main results are: 1.identification of the forming parts of the Aracaju tourism system; 2. the recognition of tourism production agents about the incipient use of activity development plans and the lack of a common strategy for tourism development; 3. Proposed reorganization of tourism governance. This work confirms the thesis that participatory governance increases tourism competitiveness while interfering with the sociospatial organization of tourism.