Tourism and Protected Areas in Brazil : Challenges and Perspectives

This book intends to support research and management practices in the real world and build a capacity to strengthen connections between Brazilian society and its natural heritage. The chapters highlight public policy, planning and management issues to link theory and practical application of implementing tourism in protected areas. The book focuses on the analysis of social, environmental and managerial aspects that facilitate new approaches to tourism planning in protected areas. Upcoming challenges, such as public-private partnerships for tourism development, fewer resources from governments, and increasing visitor numbers are key topics in dealing with market demand to guarantee principles of sustainable tourism in Brazilian protected areas. Nature-based tourism remains a new area of knowledge in Brazil, with some papers published in regional and national journals. However, there is an increasing flux of tourists and a high demand to improve visitor experiences in these protected areas. Brazilian landscapes possess a myriad of nature-based tourism opportunities, indigenous cultures, and incredible biodiversity. Sustainability of these rely on research and support. This book is an insightful reference to how tourism challenges and opportunities are managed in Brazilian protected regions. The content and language are directed at undergraduate and graduate students, as well as tourism managers in these areas. Other beneficiaries of this publication include NGOs and students from tourism, environmental sciences, ecology, biology, sociology, economics, and interdisciplinary areas about protected areas within a developing country. This is a welcome reference for researchers worldwide, especially for studies on Brazilian nature-based tourism published in English are scarce. A number of new undergraduate, graduate and specialization courses focusing on nature tourism, ecotourism, sustainable development, and protected-area management have been created in the last decade in Brazil. Although international courses in developed countries focus on contributing to sustainable tourism and research in protected areas, there are few examples with a distinct focus on viable economic application and planning in Brazil. This book fills in a part of this gap. From the viewpoint of Brazilian researchers, it addresses the reality of the unique theoretical and practical issues facing these economies. It also discusses strategies in applications that focus on improving the benefits from tourism in these protected areas.