Turismo em Jequiá da Praia-AL: contribuições e obstáculos ao desenvolvimento local

Abstract

Tourism is a complex contemporary phenomenon capable of generating various developments in the geographical space. As an important sector of the globalized economy, tourism is seen as a vector of development. Recently, the municipality of Jequiá da Praia (AL), part of the Lagoas e Mares do Sul tourist region, elaborated and approved its first Municipal Tourism Plan (2022-2023), with the intention of promoting tourism as an economic activity with potential for its development. This municipality does no differ socially and economically from other municipalities in Alagoas, which, faced with a not very dynamic economy and low socioeconomic indicators, seek alternatives to increase their revenue, generate more jobs and income, improve the quality of life of their population and, therefore, develop socially and economically. In this scenario, it is necessary to think of tourism as an economic and social activity that can take advantage of the characteristics of the territory as tourist potentialities in order to contribute to local development and improve the quality of life of the Jequiá da Praia population. In this sense, this study aims to analyze the development of tourism activity in the municipality of Jequiá da Praia (AL), as a field of possibility of local development. It is exploratory research with a qualitative approach. As for the technical procedures, bibliographic and documental research, direct and participant observation, photographic records, and semi-structured interviews conducted through field research were used.