Government Policies and the Development and Management of Tourism Destinations: a Case Study of the Brazilian Policies

This article explores the fact that economic benefits are seen as the greatest determinant of the interest of developing countries to embrace tourism as a possibility to obtain growth and better standards. In order to evaluate the social and cultural opportunities and risks brought by this content, the study focus on Brazil (so called) development in terms of tourism and the evolution of the policy adopted in the latest years. Furthermore, the case study sheds light on the positive and negative impacts of the activity caused by the globalisation in a number of perspectives and mainly, questions the real role of the government in managing tourism destinations. In the conclusion it focuses on the need of improving the quality of life for local communities in developing countries as well as the quality of tourists’ experience.