Creative economy: tourism as a possibility

The theme of creative tourism has currently gained visibility and relevant agendas among researchers from Brazilian universities, mobilizing research institutes, professionals from the private network, the community and a range of professionals engaged in making the proposal work in the most varied places, neighborhoods and localities of our country.

We here at the Federal University of Ouro Preto (UFOP), through our Graduate Program in Tourism and Heritage (PPGTURPATRI), have increasingly deepened discussions and motivated initiatives, involving actions and plans that seek to explore, foster and develop this creative potential of municipalities in Minas Gerais and other regions of Brazil and abroad.

Through UFOP's insertion in the UNESCO Chair in creative economy and public policies, it has been possible to dialogue with several researchers from other Brazilian and foreign universities, in order to exchange experiences, exchange academic and technical resources and expand the support and cooperation network at different territorial scales.

The work team composed of researchers from UFOP (in addition to me, Prof. Marcos Eduardo Carvalho Gonçalves Knupp, Profa. Carolina Lescura de Carvalho Castro Volta) and Prof. Magnus Emmendoerfer (UFV- Federal University of Viçosa), together with other universities that make up this Unesco Network/Chair, participated in the International Conference of Creative Economy & Public Policies , co-organized by UFOP and UFV, in person in Ouro Preto, last December (2022). On the occasion, an important exchange of ideas took place, with a view to the production of knowledge on the themes of Creative Economy, Public Policies, Governance, Development, Entrepreneurship and Public Administration, in addition to socio-cultural activities and the holding of the Forum of Creative Cities, Districts and Territories.

Through our participation in the project – Governance of Creative Cities of Gastronomy of Unesco –, funded by FAPEMIG (Foundation for Research Support of Minas Gerais), coordinated by Professor Magnus, we will carry out a technical visit to Dutch universities, with the objective of launching the Unesco Chair and strengthening relations, and participating in the reality of creative tourism in European locations.

Added to this, the CultSense , an event linked to the ATLAS association, on June 14 and 15 at Erasmus University Rotterdam. There will be a presentation and discussion of works, panels and success stories on the theme of creative tourism, where initiatives in the most diverse contexts of the world will be discussed.

UFOP's productions will be presented in a panel, articulated with other researchers from other universities, such as PUC Minas, the Federal University of Pernambuco and the Federal University of Viçosa. Works and research involving contemporary themes such as the art of embroidery, presenting a study referring to the Craft of the Groups of Embroiderers and Lacemakers of Ouro Preto, relating the practice of artisans, in their spaces and experiences with the local reality and creative tourism, will highlight the theme of valuing cultural heritage, referencing traditional embroidery and lace as elements of preservation of memory and heritage assets of the municipality.

In addition to this, there is the study of the creative economy as a driving motto for tourism in Brazil: the case of the district of Santo Antônio do Leite, OP/MG and the neighborhood of Bomba do Hemetério, Recife/PE. This study started from the growing interest of tourists for a new way of discovering different cultures, seeking to highlight the protagonism of the local population through genuine experiences, revering their heritage. In this context is Santo Antônio do Leite, a rural district of Ouro Preto, whose potential revolves around handicrafts, gastronomy and silver, a traditional element of the locality. In an analogous way, there is the neighborhood of Bomba do Hemetério in Recife, the first community-based cultural tourist destination in an urban area, organized within a local development strategy, which has had its singularities worked within the strands of creative tourism. The districts and neighborhoods have been gaining tourist visibility through cultural events and, in this context, the work seeks to discuss the activity of creative tourism as an attraction and economic and social insertion in Santo Antônio do Leite and Bomba do Hemetério, through the creation of itineraries and networks for the exchange of experiences.

UFOP is also involved, together with the municipal government of Ouro Preto, in the elaboration of a plan for the development of the creative economy, which seeks to propose actions and strategies for the execution of creative tourism in the municipality and its districts. In addition, the university will prepare a dossier for the submission of the municipality as a creative city of Unesco, in the area of arts and crafts, in its next notice.

To this end, the necessary actions will be identified to carry out the municipality's candidacy in articulation with the Secretariat of Economic Development, Directorate of Creative Economy of Ouro Preto, through the mobilization of the actors involved in the themes of public management and public policies of tourism and creative economy, to then culminate with the candidacy of the municipality as a Creative City of Unesco – Arts and Crafts.

Another work that is currently in force, involving the team of UFOP, UFV and other Universities in Minas Gerais, is the project recently submitted to FAPEMIG, which aims to articulate the Creative Economy (CE), within the multidisciplinary spectrum, with Community-Based Tourism (CBT), bringing pre-paradigmatic scientific fields of knowledge that transcend the economic aspect and run into social and cultural values. This initiative seeks to offer strategies for the problems faced through principles and elements that produce creative territories, favoring sustainability.

In this sense, the 2030 Agenda and the achievement of its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the basis for supporting the proposal. Specifically, it will allow us to know the broader characteristics of political systems and the relationships that involve the construction of public policies. Little is known about the forms of interaction that make up the configuration of these arrangements. Thus, it seeks to analyze the interactions that are embodied in political processes and influence the dynamics of the sustainability of the territories, from the perspective of gastronomy, anchored in EC and TBC. Such delimitation will allow exploring fruitful spaces for public policies in a comparative perspective, interacting with local and global conformations.

Information on the policy process is sought, which can culminate in support for the elaboration and implementation of public policies. Finally, this work is part of the international network Unesco Chair in CE and Public Policies and the TBC Network of Minas Gerais. Thus, it is also expected to carry out foreign exchanges for the implementation of Creative, Community and Cultural Tourism projects, such as the CREATOUR Observatory, Portugal and Alba Sud, Spain.

These are some of the network actions in the face of sustainability challenges, in which we seek to make our contributions.