Territorial perspectives of development from Rural Tourism: the case of the territory Quarta Colônia / RS, Brazil

Abstract

From the territorial perspective of development, in the territory of the Fourth Colony of Italian immigration, located in the center of the state of Rio Grande do Sul / Brazil has been investing in tourism to leverage its development in line with other productive activities. As a strategy, tourism has been used to compose the commercialization and dissemination narratives of the specific natural and cultural resources found in the territory itself. Despite the public incentive to develop the activity, the creation of tourist routes and itineraries did not meet the expectations of local entrepreneurs. In this aspect, the main objective was to analyze the aspects that inhibited the process of tourism development in the territory. Methodologically, the study has a qualitative cut and the information was collected through primary and secondary sources. As a result, the study found that despite government support, local actors were not included in the tourism development process and the fragility of social capital prevented many tourism activities from succeeding over the years. However, tourism has resumed its growth process driven by local actors who jointly prepare and at the same time experience recreational activities, rural trails and paths, festivities and gastronomic events.