Article originally published on 25 November 2024 at The Conversation by Gui Lohmann (RMIT University), Glauber Santos (USP) and Jaqueline Gil (UnB).
Brazil has a new opportunity to pivot its history in tourism development. The General Tourism Law, enacted in 2008, was Updated September 2024 . Against the Advances and setbacks of the Brazilian tourism policy at the beginning of the century , the law offers improvements. However, it is necessary to accelerate innovations, ease of doing business and new forms of management to ensure that the New legal framework results in sustainable development and resilience, in the face of the great challenge of this decade: climate change .
In the context of the fierce competition for growing global tourist flows , some new and ambitious proposals for competitiveness stand out. Among them, the voluminous investments of the Turkey in air connectivity, the Saudi Arabia , which prioritized tourism as its "new" economic source, and the bet of the Colombia for sustainability and biodiversity. Scholars indicate that tourism growth will be continuous and, in 2050, , there will be more than 4 billion international travelers, more than three times the current volume . Brazil cannot wait another twenty-five years to benefit from this movement.
The updating of the law has improved mechanisms that connect Brazil to present opportunities. Among them, the facilitation of foreign investments, the use of the National Civil Aviation Fund for airlines to renew fleets, refuel at airports in the Legal Amazon and finance renewable fuel projects, in addition to the formalization of farmers in the chain of tourism service providers. The prescription of the centrality of sustainability is also new.
What remained to be done
However, the new legal framework missed a golden chance by not prioritizing transformative issues, nor consolidating a clear vision of the future for tourism in Brazil. It will be up to future national, state and municipal tourism policies to prioritize investments and programs that lead to digital transformation, the development of new skills in tourism professionals, and, above all, partnerships to foster innovation and improve the business environment, always based on sustainability and climate action.
The Law did not deal with the debureaucratization of tourism, in the context of the difficulty of doing business in Brazil , nor did it update indicators that measure the impacts and benefits of the activity in the country. Countries such as Australia , Canada and Sweden they already make use of new indicators, such as prosperity, well-being and resilience of tourist destinations. In Brazil, the number of tourists and the inflow of foreign currency continued to prevail, as in the last century.
Legislation in other countries is an example to be followed
Three examples of legal frameworks that could inspire transformations for Brazilian tourism:
In Portugal, 2020 legislation regulated the digital transformation of the economy . The Technological Free Zones (ZLT) became the pilot project for Portugal's declared intention to lead in research and application of emerging technologies, especially with autonomous vehicles and artificial intelligence (AI). The ZLT are geographically defined spaces in which there is promotion and special concessions for testing and experimentation, in a real environment, of innovative technologies using AI, blockchain, 5G or nanotechnologies. The ZLT Matosinhos is focused on testing carbon-neutral mobility solutions for instance.
The Brazilian law could have introduced frameworks to encourage the testing of innovative solutions for operations with higher levels of water pollution and carbon emissions in tourist destinations. Circular economy, Elimination of single-use plastic and energy transition, with mobility of low or neutralized carbon emissions, for example, deserve to be highlighted.
In Canada, the Experience Fund It provides more than 58 million Canadian dollars in microcredit to develop or enhance tourism outside the traditional centers. Investments are directed to experiences that: a) operate in winter or low season; b) are led by indigenous communities, such as the ShearWater Wilderness Resort , owned by Heiltsuknation Indian Nation Council ; c) are inclusive, especially for the LGBTQIAPN+ community; d) take place in rural communities and in remote areas; and e) promote "farm-to-table" gastronomy, valuing local farmers and chefs.
A proposal to regulate microcredit for tourism in Brazil could, for example, prioritize experiences that finance conservation or regeneration of biomes. Large fires , Floods or Coral bleaching In tourist regions, just mentioning devastating phenomena that happened in the second half of 2024, need more attention.
In South Africa, the regulation of public-private partnerships to expand conservation units It has guaranteed safaris with a diversity of fauna and flora all year round. African safaris have direct value estimated at more than $14 billion , which may exceed US$ 30 billion with indirect services. The Kruger Park region, between South Africa and Mozambique, was the pilot of the transfer of fences from public lands to incorporate private lands into the territorial space of conservation. More savannah and more water guaranteed to animals facilitate their proliferation and the balance of food chains. Started in 1994, this practice has already added thousands of hectares to Kruger. Recently, more than 35 thousand hectares were incorporated into what is conventionally called the "Greater Kruger National Park (GKNP)". Research by the National Parks of South Africa and the University of Florida assessed that private reserves, although they hold only 12% of the GKNP territory, are currently responsible for 60% of the generation of economic value, employment and income in the region.
Brazilian legislation could encourage new tourism ventures in private areas around conservation units. In addition to being a mechanism to possibly limit the irregular expansion of deforestation, expand areas of biodiversity and strengthen Community Enterprises , the promotion of nature tourism could contribute to Brazil's greenhouse gas emission reduction targets . The surroundings of the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park (GO) or the Chapada dos Guimarães National Park (MT), where there is pressure from agribusiness for land use, could be pilots.
Would Brazilian environmental legislation be an inspiration for tourism?
The avant-garde Brazilian environmental policy, legislated since the 1930s , was not due to international pressure or competition. Backwards Brazil has inaugurated schools, by government agencies or civil society movements . His international leadership, enshrined in the Rio-92, when the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was signed , will be tested at COP-30 next year. Preparing for new pioneers, the recent legislation that lays the groundwork for large-scale production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) It is a milestone.
In tourism, the country's grandiose cultural and natural appeals seem to converge in time and theme: this is the time for Brazil to improve its tourism policies to finally occupy its rightful place. Despite improvements in international rankings of tourism competitiveness, including in ecotourism , Brazil has size ( First in megabiodiversity , Fifth in territory , seventh in population and Ninth in Economics to be a tourist power focused on people and nature. For this, it is not possible to continue without reinventing yourself. It is necessary to define a focus, which goes beyond the centrality of sustainability. We have the knife and the cheese: "Brazil, a paradise of regenerative tourism" can be a path, with a lot of technology and new business profiles. The National Tourism Council should lead the creation of this new paradigm for Brazilian tourism, since the Law left something to be desired.
