THE SPATIAL DYNAMIC OF TOURISM DESTINATIONS BORDERING THE REGION OF AGULHAS NEGRAS

ABSTRACT:

The results presented in this paper are part of research carried out for a Master’s degree thesis that investigated public management in the tourist region of Agulhas Negras, in the south of the State of Rio de Janeiro, bordering the states of Minas Gerais and São Paulo. Bearing in mind that the decisions of the Agulhas Negras Regional Tourism Council influence various neighboring localities, due to the proximity of their territories and the movement of tourists between them, this study investigates whether the tourism entities of those cross-boundary municipalities are in some way included in the decisions of that Council. Bearing in mind that the decisions of the Agulhas Negras Regional Tourism Council influence various neighboring localities, due to the proximity of their territories and the movement of tourists between them, this study investigates whether the tourism entities of those cross-boundary municipalities are in some way included in the decisions of that Council. Discussions were held about state boundaries, mobility, and the use of the category of territory-network to understand the tourism phenomenon. Interviews were also conducted with Council participants using the “snowball” technique. The results show that the interviewees perceive tourism in the region as going beyond state boundaries, and that the agents of one of the bordering municipalities are included in the Council, but do not consider this participation to be very significant. There was a consensus that for tourists, the political/institutional boundary makes little difference to them and that cooperation between neighboring municipalities is possible.

KEYWORDS:
Network; Territory; Mobility; Governance instance