Latin American Journal of Tourismology

Federal normative acts on tourism in Canada: a preliminary analysis of data collected from the “Destination Canada” agency

Thiago Duarte — 2024-12-31

This study aimed to analyze the profile of federal normative acts on tourism in Canada, focusing on the documents prepared by the “Destination Canada” agency during the period from 2006 to 2019. It constitutes a preliminary study regarding this country embedded in the framework of an international comparative analysis of the institutional trajectory of public tourism policies (Pimentel, 2024). The goal is to uncover how tourism gains relevance within the realm of national public interest. For this purpose, Pimentel’s institutional analysis model (2011; 2014) was employed, emphasizing its organizational characteristics. The empirical research, quantitative in nature, followed a census survey approach (supported by SPSS), based on secondary data obtained from official Canadian documentary sources, particularly those issued by the “Destination Canada” agency between 2006 and 2019. These documents represent “normative acts” on tourism (NAT) at the national level in Canada, specifically related to the tourism sector, and are interpreted here as “public tourism policies” (PTP). The results demonstrate that, despite the political-institutional specificities of Canada’s governmental system, its national NAT issued by Destination Canada shares similarities, in terms of form, content, and manifest purposes, with those of other countries (e.g., Brazil and Mexico). They establish tourism as a geopolitical strategy for the country, aiming to position Canada as an attractive destination for key issuing markets. A distinctive feature, however, is the country’s consideration of tourism as a vector for quality of life improvement for its population, also promoting domestic tourism.

Dossier: Network-based community tourism: experiences, connections, and controversies in Brazil

Edilaine Albertino de Moraes — 2024-12-31

This text introduces the dossier “Network-Based Community Tourism: Experiences, Connections, and Controversies in Brazil,” organized by guest co-editors Edilaine Albertino de Moraes (UFJF), Teresa Cristina Miranda Mendonça (UFRRJ), and Ernest Cañada (University of the Balearic Islands and Alba Sud).

Community-based tourism in brazil: ways to know, intervene and build possible paths

Edilaine Albertino de Moraes — 2024-12-20

This paper aims to present and discuss the historical process of construction of theoretical-practical debate on community-based tourism (CBT) in Brazil, considering several actors involved, such as local leaders, public managers, activists, researchers, and agents of the travel and tourism market. This research is based on qualitative methodology, based on bibliographic and documentary surveys and fieldwork (face-to-face and virtual) carried out during the academic trajectory from 2004 to 2024. The line of argument of the article starts from a central question: which CBT are we talking about? In this sense, the literature review considers CBT's background and conceptual contradictions, analyzing also the possibilities and challenges of this social practice in the post-pandemic. The main results obtained over the last decades revealed multiple versions of this practice, which are being (re)produced in different Brazilian realities, allowing to delineate an exercise of rewriting compositions, actors, associations and possible paths in this field. In the midst of challenges and disputes, it was concluded that TBC, as a strategy of resistance and economic alternative, evokes another possible world, Thus prioritizing the understanding of actions that aim to overcome the current conditions of inequality and exclusion of various groups in the countryside and in the city.

Community-based tourism and heritage: initial approaches

Renato de Oliveira dos Santos — 2024-12-20

This essay reflects on urban community-based tourism (UCBT) and its relationship with heritage in Brazil and Latin America. It examines how urban UCBT emerges within contexts of territorial struggles and community resistance to market pressures and top-down tourism models. The study analyzes existing experiences and challenges related to integrating UCBT and heritage in urban peripheral areas and favelas, exploring its configuration, management, and redefinition of UCBT itself. The analysis highlights both the potential of urban UCBT to foster socio-territorial transformation and the structural challenges it faces, emphasizing the complexities and opportunities involved in this approach. The study concludes by proposing avenues for further investigation into the socio-spatial implications of urban UCBT initiatives linked to heritage conservation.

Acquilombing with the university: notes on community-based tourism as an element for strengthening quilombo territories

Thiago Sebastiano de Melo — 2024-12-19

This article aims to discuss quilombos' territorial strengthening and political struggles in tourism projects based on research and extension experiences of two federal universities. The theoretical framework that supports and expands this discussion includes understanding quilombo and being a quilombola, community-based tourism (CBT), and territory. In this sense, the contribution of this article is anchored in the gap of systematized experiences that deal with CBT and quilombos embodied in the categories of the Historical Dialectical Materialist method (MHD), notably the totality. In this perspective, the university-community relationship reveals itself as an alliance between academic and traditional quilombola knowledge in the construction of TBC experiences as an affirmation of the cosmovision of these territories, becoming Quilombola and building a Quilombola CBT.

Community tourism in Bahia: the BATUC network under analysis

Alberto Viana de Campos Filho Campos Filho — 2024-12-20

This unprecedented study aimed to analyze the singularities, performance and respective processes of community tourism carried out by the Community Tourism Network of Bahia (BATUC Network) from its creation to the present moment. The methodology consisted of a qualitative and exploratory case study. Bibliographic and documentary research was carried out, which was complemented with an empirical survey of data and information available on the websites of the initiatives/members of the BATUC Network, and interviews with researchers from June to December 2023. The literature review addressed community tourism and community tourism networks; indication of elements that mark and characterize community tourism in Bahia; and the characterization of the BATUC Network, reflecting on its history, development and current situation. The study met its main objective and answered two central questions: the presentation of a version of community tourism that takes place in Brazil in the current scenario, with BATUC as its focus, and how this network has been configured as a collective process of community tourism between 2015 and 2024. It was concluded that the experience of the BATUC Network strengthens community tourism as a phenomenon, a multidisciplinary scientific field of study, a space for professional action and a movement for human emancipation of social subjects in the form of collective action; and that there is a need for continuity in studies on this subject.

Collective action and Community-Based Tourism: experiences in the coastal tourist region of Paraná, Brazil

Beatriz Leite Ferreira Cabral — 2024-12-20

This research focuses on collective actions linked to Community-Based Tourism (CBT) in the Litoral do Paraná tourist region. The aim of the article is to approach and decode the mosaic of collective actions in the dynamics of CBT involving traditional populations. To this end, the qualitative methodology was based on participant observation of CBT experiences in the region between 2015 and 2024 and a bibliographic and documentary survey. The results obtained were analyzed along three thematic axes: educational actions, communication, management and marketing actions, and political mobilization actions. The research indicated the importance of collective actions for implementing and consolidating CBT experiences and finding solutions to various community challenges in the region studied.

Voices of Cearense Community Tourism Network: actors, strategies and associations

Edilaine Albertino de Moraes — 2024-12-20

This article aims to describe the way in which the Ceará Community Tourism Network (TUCUM) is structured from the point of view of the Actor-Network Theory, starting with the practices in which multiple forms of CBT are built. The theoretical-methodological approach based on the Actor-Network Theory involved bibliographical and documentary research and field research, including interviews and informal conversations with community leaders and advisors from non-governmental organizations, as well as participant observation at general assemblies of the TUCUM Network. The results obtained in this pioneering initiative showed that, at its inception in 2008, the TBC was constituted as a strategy of resistance and defense in guaranteeing the right to the territory of traditional communities and indigenous peoples in the Ceará Coastal Zone. Over the years, this approach has been expanded in the direction of a renewal of the interests and roles of the TUCUM Network towards an enhanced promotion and commercialization of the TBC. The result is a network that is woven by multiple voices, popular knowledge, institutions, and powers, among other associated parties, constantly reassembling the elements that sustain - politically and economically - CBT practices in the TUCUM.

Community-based state tourism laws of Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, Minas Gerais, Goiás, and Pará: an analysis of the principle of social participation

Teresa Cristina de Miranda Mendonça — 2024-12-20

The research aims to analyze the state laws of community-based tourism in Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, Minas Gerais, Goiás, and Pará, under the influence of the principle of participation. Content analysis was the methodology used to reflect on the public policy of CBT in Brazil, having as an object of analysis the state laws of TBC of the mentioned states. The proposed and methodological structure of the article "Community-Based Tourism in Developing Countries: A Framework for Policy Evaluation”, with an investigation of the Colombian case, was inspiring for the analysis, starting from the conceptual contribution on community-based tourism, public policies, and participation. As a result of the analysis of the category "definitions", it is noted that the laws express the principle of participation differently, and none presents a definition of it. Regarding the two categories referring to the participatory instance, only two laws provide for its creation. The proposal for the constitution of participatory bodies that include communities, such as the Management Committees and Regional Councils of the TBC, is presented as a way that favors the consolidation of the principle of participation. The methodological framework enables deepening the debate on participation in public policies of CBT.

The “house” is mine: perspectives and meanings of "home" in the Nhandereko Network of Community-Based Tourism

Teresa Cristina de Miranda Mendonça — 2024-12-31

The article aims to identify the senses and meanings of the "house" as a locus of reproduction of the way of life and knowledge of indigenous, quilombolas and caiçaras, which are part of practices related to tourism in the construction of a new practice of doing and knowing: the Nhandereko Community-based Tourism Network. The research is based on a theoretical-conceptual field that covers the perspectives of home, inherited place, territory and symbolic sites of belonging, and uses a qualitative methodology, with anthropological bias, with emphasis on field research, semi-structured interviews, analysis of leadership and community narratives, and documentary research. The diverse perspectives of the "houses" of the Community-based Tourism (CBT) of Nhandereko Network reveal its multifunctional, pulsating nature, where privacy, refuge and security are associated with the realization of tourist activities as a tool and change strategy, showing that these constitute cultural, territorial and economic resistance, and value local identity and history.

Community tourism as a gift system in the Amazon: an analysis about the community Coroca, Santarém, PA

Giselle Castro de Assis — 2024-12-31

The objective of this study was to analyze the social relations in the practice of Community tourism by the Coroca Community, located on Arapiuns river, in the municipality of Santarém. Marcel Mauss` Theory of the Gift was used to observe hospitality in the logic of reciprocity. Attributing value to relationship and symbolism, how do hospitality and reciprocity that it interlinks affect the social life of the community? In it, does tourism as a gift reach the meaning of total social fact? The ethnography research method, participating observation, field diary and unstructured interviews were used for data collection, as it is typical for ethnographic research. The field research took place in July 2019. As a result, it is highlighted that tourism institutes relationships of exchange/gifts and reciprocity between internal and external social agents, originating a wide relational network, which, in turn, creates aliances and sociability. It is concluded that community tourism in Coroca constitutes a social environment of reciprocities that needs, however, to evolve in its repercussions and internal and external symmetries to be fully defined as a system of gifts.

An ethnographic analysis of the practice of indigenous ethnotourism in the Coroa Vermelha Indigenous Land from the perspective of community-based tourism

Aline Santos Bispo — 2024-12-31

The article analyzes the tourist activity of Pataxó villages in the Coroa Vermelha Indigenous Land (TICV) based on a Community-Based Tourism (CBT) perspective. Currently, of the 15 villages located in the Indigenous Land, around seven receive visitors. Among these, the scope of this research considered four villages that practice this type of tourism: the Pataxó da Jaqueira Reserve, Aldeia Nova Coroa and the Txag’ru Mirawê Cultural Center. The ethnographic data mobilized is part of ongoing research since 2018 at TICV whose analysis suggests that all ethno-enterprises show TBC characteristics. Autonomous and sustainable, these projects constitute a tool for cultural and political action for the Pataxó communities, in addition to representing the main source of increased income. It is seen that community self-management practices promote the protagonism of indigenous communities, sowing favorable conditions for permanence in the territory, maintenance of their traditional ways of life and environmental preservation. It is concluded that indigenous environmental, territorial and tourist management practices can broaden the horizon of TBC studies.

A factor-cluster approach in assessing residents' perceptions towards sustainable rural tourism development

Sadanand Gaonkar — 2024-10-25

Rural tourism is now widely embraced and has given rural residents numerous recreational business opportunities to engage in tourism globally. Therefore, they are required to investigate even on a lesser scale. In this regard, a study was conducted to ascertain how locals view sustainable rural tourism development and how these perceptions vary across various demographic categories. The data was gathered from 300 randomly selected Dharbandoda Taluka, Goa, India residents and analyzed using descriptive statistics, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), and Cluster Analysis. The EFA revealed the five main factors, namely, the public utility services factor, economic factors, social factors, cultural factors, and environmental factors. The factor-cluster analysis results identified the three main clusters: Socio-Environmental, Socio-Economic, and Socio-Cultural Focused. It is revealed that cluster 3 has more respondents who are female, ages between 18 to 25, single, and employed, and have favorable attitudes toward the sustainable development of rural tourism. The study concludes that the region will experience significant growth if more local and natural resources are utilized efficiently.

Training and qualification in tourism: university education in tourism from a research perspective in the annals of the ANPTUR seminar (2005-2023)

Adriana Santos Brito — 2024-10-24

The purpose of this article is to identify and analyze the academic productions (abstracts) on the subject of higher education in tourism, found in the ANPTUR database, in the scientific division ‘Training and Scientific Research’, working group (WG) ‘Training and qualification for tourism’, taking the years 2005 to 2023 as the time frame. The methodology used was qualitative and quantity, with a descriptive-exploratory and systematic bias. Through thematic analysis with the construction of mind maps and the support of the Mindomo application. When seventy-three abstracts were collected and analyzed, the ANPTUR database showed an evolution of abstracts over the last years on the subject of higher education in tourism, bringing significant contributions in the theoretical field and in applied research, seeking to reflect on new didactic-pedagogical activities carried in undergraduate and postgraduate stricto sensu in tourism in Brazil. The final considerations provide an overview of the theory covered and suggest future work, as this is an essential topic in the field of tourism.

Multicriteria evaluation to determine cultural identity in the tourism development of Choix, Sinaloa

Martín León Santiesteban — 2024-10-28

The objective of this study is to propose a model for the evaluation of cultural identity through multi-criteria evaluation for the municipality of Choix, Sinaloa, Mexico. Regarding the frame of reference, the concept of identity is analyzed with a sense of collective belonging, managing to understand that within its main elements are focused on cultural traits, customs, traditions, religious manifestations, language, expressions transmitted in generations. Likewise, a literature review is carried out, considering that cultural identity is fundamental for the implementation of strategies to promote tourism in a community. As part of the methodological process, the Multicriteria Analysis for Decision Making was considered, based on the Weighted Additive Sum method, which allows the incorporation of qualitative criteria. In addition, it allows to constitute multiple factors of tourist destinations and model them in a general way. The results allowed with this multi-criteria method to design a composite indicator to evaluate the potential of the cultural identity of the municipality in urban and rural tourism development by comparing them as alternatives. In conclusion, the multi-criteria analysis method allowed the final indicators to be obtained, providing useful results, by knowing the perception of the population about the tourism potential and providing information to decision-makers.

Eco-friendly practices and tourist satisfaction towards accommodation at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine in India

Lakhvinder Singh — 2024-05-21

The current research endeavours to investigate the implementation of eco-friendly practices within accommodation establishments and its correlation with guest satisfaction at the Vaishno Devi shrine in India. With eco-friendliness increasingly becoming a pivotal marketing concern, its impact on tourist satisfaction is of paramount importance. A self-structured questionnaire was administered to a randomly selected sample of 227 hotel guests within the study area to gather data. This study explicitly delves into various eco-friendly practices adopted by accommodation units, encompassing water conservation, food quality, energy conservation, waste management, air quality, and noise pollution. Among these practices, food quality, energy conservation, air quality, and noise pollution were identified as significantly influencing customer satisfaction. The findings underscore the presence of several eco-friendly initiatives among the selected accommodation firms, underscoring their association with customer satisfaction. This suggests a pressing need for tourism and hospitality managers to prioritize the adoption of suitable eco-friendly practices to enhance customer satisfaction and foster sustainable development. While the study sheds light on significant insights, it is not without limitations. Future research endeavours may benefit from addressing these limitations and further exploring the implications of eco-friendly practices in the tourism and hospitality sector.

Netnographic analysis of the trekking in Lençóis Maranhenses National Park

Shaiane Vargas da Silveira — 2024-08-27

The objective of the study is to analyze the travel accounts of individuals who undertook the crossing of the Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, in the Northeast region of Brazil, with the aim of constructing a documentary corpus of the travelers' experiences. The adopted methodology was descriptive and interpretative, based on netnographic research, focusing on travel accounts published on a travel platform between November 2011 and April 2020. The focus on the subjects' narratives is the main characteristic of the research, whose relevance lies in the understanding of the experience through methods such as netnography. The main results obtained after analyzing the accounts of travelers who mentioned the terms "hiking" and "crossing" reveal common traits of this experience, providing information that points to two categories of analysis: one directed towards the connection of the accounts with the travel experience and another towards the connection of the accounts with the experience in nature. Results were presented that assist in decision-making in the context of leisure and tourism planning in conservation units, as well as highlight the impact of travelers' narratives, valuing their testimonies through the construction of a documentary corpus for technical and academic use.

Erotic capital and emotional labor in the events market of Rio Grande do Norte: profile and performance of female workers as an economic asset

Iáscara Gislâne Cavalcante Alves — 2024-10-23

This article problematizes the structural tension between the political-economic imperatives of capital reproduction and the concrete symbolic-interactional challenges, both in the intersubjective dimension and in the individual subjective integrity, experienced daily by workers allocated as event promoters in tertiary activities of the events market in Rio Grande do Norte, a market that is an exponente of tourist activity. In this analytical section of the complex relationship between the individual, society and culture, the analytical object comprises the modes of disposition and justification of erotic capital and emotional labor in the daily lives of professional women working in the events market as a result of the profile that these workers need to acquire and the performance they need to develop to be able to the position. The article addresses, in this context, the tensions inherent to this localized confrontation between capital and labor from the perspective of a Marxian theorization of capitalism in its current format of flexible and precarious management of relations, biographies and subjectivities, while also triggering theories about performance and symbolic interaction for the compression of the concrete daily life lived by event promoters engaged in the tertiary activities in question.

Tourism-residential development as an agent of social change. The case of Chapala, Mexico

Sandra Zepeda-Hernández — 2024-12-30

Mexico is the leading destination for North Americans migrating to Latin America and the second most popular destination worldwide for Canadian tourists (IOM, 2022). The purpose of this article is to analyze how tourism-residential development as a predominant mode of production has influenced social change and, therefore, the possible causal relationship of the economic model on the superstructure (Marx, 1973) in the municipality of Chapala, one of the main Mexican destinations for North American retirees. Qualitative data collection techniques were used to analyze the data in light of the proposed categories in the social and cultural dimensions. The results observe from a Marxist perspective the social change generated by the superstructure by showing how the economic base has motivated economic subordination, cultural imposition, inequalities and symbolic barriers, highlighting the impact of the economic system on the reconfiguration of identities and community dynamics, while reinforcing the legitimacy of an unequal but functional system for its permanence and continuity.

The emergence and backstage of Max Miles in tourism

Juarez Velozo — 2024-05-10

Passionate about music, engineer Max Oliveira took the plunge when he resigned from a multinational mining company to become an entrepreneur. In this exclusive interview, the Minas Gerais native with the strong accent celebrates the merger with former competitor 123Milhas and talks about his career and the lessons he has learned over the ten years he has been with the company. The executive traveled to São Paulo and met the author at his press office in June 2023 (before 123Milhas went into receivership). The speeches have been transcribed in their entirety and slight adjustments have been made to maintain coherence and avoid overlapping ideas. Considering himself a "technology company within tourism", he talks about his legacy in the area; the balance between family life and business; the end of his business partnership; and his view on the constant change of tourism ministers in the country. From this book, future researchers will be able to advance in studies in diverse areas such as Business Administration, Business Management and Tourism; in research that evaluates the impacts of the judicial recovery of 123Milhas; in addition to the miles and points system in Tourism.