Fonte: Journal of Tourism & Development; v. 2, n. 17/18 (2012); 1145-1156
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Resumo: | This paper aims to analyse the development of tourism in Brazil’s northeast. For data analysis descriptive statistical and comparative methods were used. The application of PRODETUR/NE allowed the barriers that hindered the development of tourism in the northeast region of Brazil to be reduced, especially those related to tourism infrastructure. The main cities in the northeast, Salvador, Recife and Fortaleza, were ranked in 2003, in the 3rd, 4th and 5th positions as the most visited cities of Brazil. There was an increase in the number of passengers that landed in Brazil’s north-eastern airports, considered as an indicator of tourist flow. The installed capacity of the hotel network in these north-eastern capitals has registered a 94% increase from 1996 to 2009, and the region recorded an occupancy rate higher than 63%, closer to the national average. Tourism revenue in Brazil’s northeast increased, on average, 97% in the period of 2002-2008. It was also noticed that 43% of Portuguese investments in Brazil were conducted in the north-eastern region and that 69% of Portuguese companies established in Brazil are developing their activities in the service sector, of which 15% are attached to the hotel industry network. From the scenario previously described, it can be assumed that tourism became a strategic domain for the development of the northeast region, as it attracts new investment and creates new business opportunities and jobs, allowing compatibility between the economic growth, the social development of the population, and the preservation of the resources and natural beauty of the region.
