Políticas públicas de turismo e desenvolvimento local no município de Penedo, Alagoas

Abstract

This study examines the tourism public policies of the municipality of Penedo, Brazil. The theoretical framework was developed based on the concepts of public policy and local development. Tourism has become a development alternative for many Brazilian municipalities. This is the case of Penedo. Given its rich historical and natural heritage, the local government has encouraged the development of tourism at the local scale. In order to attain this aim, a Municipal Tourism Council and Municipal Tourism Fund have been created. Also, there have been some attempts to explore local tourism potentialities based on federal and state-level tourism policies. The study methodology used the following data collection instruments/strategies: observation, semi-structured interview and photographic survey. Data analysis was conducted using a qualitative approach, with emphasis being laid on aspects relevant to the examination of the research question that was developed for the study. Evidences were collected that Penedo’s tourism public policies are incipient, fragmentary and disarticulated with both business and civil society actions related to tourism. As a consequence, it is clear that tourism has not been able to contribute in any significant way to local development in Penedo.