Gestão do turismo em território de grande densidade religiosa: o caso do Novo México.

AUTOR(ES)
FONTE

IBICT - Instituto Brasileiro de Informação em Ciência e Tecnologia

DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

08/07/2011

RESUMO

This dissertation explores relationships between tourism and religious identities hoping to contribute to the broadening of theoretical perspectives on tourism development and cultures. It assumes that many tourist destinies include temples and local religious festivals throughout the world even if the choice for the travel was not reflecting the primary religious belief of the tourist. This is the case in Bahia; a Brazilian state that has the largest population of African descendents in Brazil. Visitors consume diverse forms of expression of Candomblé and Catholicism. In Brazil the predominant religious tourism is the visitation to cathedrals, churches and Catholic processions, ignoring other possible religious manifestations. In other regions of Brazil, religions express themselves in very remarkable ways for the tourists‟ gaze. Their management bodies aim to promote tourism based on cultural diversity. This study explains why tourism does not always develop in relationship to the various religious identities even when they are intensively expressive in the territory. The emphasis by the tourism institutions in one or another religion implies limitations to the tourist experience; this research aims to bring understanding of relationships between tourism development and religious diversity. Initial explorations into the literature show that the concepts of religious tourism and cultural tourism do not have enough explanatory potential for this research. To fill this theoretical gap, this study attempts to define the concept of tourism in territories of high religious density‟, primarily shaped in the interdisciplinary relationship between fields of geography, anthropology and tourism management. A comparative analysis was undertaken with another territory of high religious density where tourism development occurs with more inclusiveness in religious diversity. This was the case of tourism in New Mexico, a state that has one of the largest populations of American Indians in the U.S.. Their tribal communities are active in the management of tourism in their sovereign territories modeling the possibilities for tourism development. Since this context is favorable for operating the proposed concept, the case of New Mexico enables to sustain the thesis that the development of tourism is related to the ability of its management institutions to capture the forms of expression of religious identities. These are in turn shaped by the historical path of the persistent dynamics of assertion of power and resistance. This study concludes that tourism can be understood as a mechanism of power in territories of high religious density in which the discourse built on cultural identities is a key element defining the tourist experience. Emphasis on how the institutions can capture the expression of various forms of religious identities improving the tourist experience both for tourists and local communities. Revealing institutional discourse gives tourism the dual characteristic of being both a mechanism that reflects and translates the religious diversity of the territory for tourists and a mechanism that interferes in the affirmation or transformation of power relations present in the territory.

ASSUNTO(S)

desenvolvimento do turismo políticas para o turismo discurso turístico consumo turístico gestão do turismo identidades religiosas religião transformação e resistência cultura bahia novo méxico comunidades indígenas norte-americanas acoma pueblo santuário de chimayó santa fé organismos de gestão do turismo tourism development tourism policies tourism discourse tourism consumption tourism management religious identities religion resistance and transformation culture bahia new mexico native american communities acoma pueblo santuario de chimayó santa fé institutions for tourism management turismo

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