Tourism Public Policies in Minas Gerais: An Analysis of Normative Acts and Regional Governance Arrangements

Abstract

This technical-executive report analyzes the institutionalization of tourism public policies in Minas Gerais, Brazil, focusing on normative acts, management structures, governance mechanisms, and Normative-Territorial Arrangements related to the Tourism Regionalization Policy. The study aimed to examine how the state tourism policy is materialized in legal and administrative instruments, comparing the state level with selected tourism circuits, especially Malhas do Sul de Minas, Caminho Novo, and Serras de Ibitipoca. Methodologically, the research adopted a historical-institutional approach and content analysis, based on a survey of normative acts retrieved from the Legislative Assembly of Minas Gerais portal, initially covering the period from 2010 to 2020. A total of 88 normative acts were identified and later filtered down to 32 documents directly related to the tourism sector. Municipal data, programs, projects, actions, public resources, municipal funds, tourism councils, tourism-related tax transfers, and administrative structures were also considered. The results indicate that tourism policy in Minas Gerais shows a strong degree of formal institutionalization, especially through laws, decrees, councils, funds, and regionalization instruments. However, they also reveal asymmetries among municipalities, differences in financing capacity, weaknesses in implementation, and dependence on formal requirements established by the state policy. The report concludes that strengthening tourism governance depends on improving normative arrangements, linking public resources to concrete actions, and enhancing mechanisms for policy formulation, implementation, and monitoring.