Tourism development: sustainable or sustained? Intercultural reflec-tions on the case of Praia do Forte-Bahia, Brazil

Abstract

This article adopts qualitative exploratory research, undertaken by means of a single-case study on Praia do Forte, a tourism destination located on the Brazilian coast. Use was made of second-ary data and in-depth interviews with local residents, to answer the research question of how this desti-nation could follow a path of tourism development in a way that differentiates it from similar ones; and, as secondary objective if the degree of current development can still be seen as sustainable. Based on a systematic perspective of tourism, we seek to extend the vision of development so as to include soci-ocultural and environmental dimensions of sustainability based on Sachs' (1986) model. The results indicate that three factors seem to answer the question

El artículo adoptó investigación exploratoria cualitativa, realizada con base al estudio de caso de Praia do Forte, un destino turístico localizado en la costa Brasileña. Fueron usados datos secundarios y entrevistas en profundidad con residentes locales, de modo a responder a la pregunta principal de in-vestigación de como este destino podría seguir un camino de desarrollo turístico diferenciado y, como objetivo secundario, si el grado de desarrollo actual puede todavía ser considerado sustentable. Basado en una perspectiva de turismo sistémica, buscamos extender la visión de sustentabilidad para abarcar dimensiones socioculturales y ambientales según el modelo de Sachs (1986). Los resultados indican que tres factores parecen responder la pregunta.