Public Policies and Tourism – Initial Reflections

This is my welcoming article in this new communication space, where I hope to create many connections.

I have 27 years of experience in tourism, and of those 27 years, I have worked directly or indirectly with the public sector, whether at the municipal, regional, state, or federal level.

And, of course, with a great deal of learning about what tourism is from the perspective of public policy and planning at all levels.

Organizing a tourist destination is a challenge. It only happens through planning, and this planning requires a broad vision that includes actions from the private sector – we cannot lose sight of the fact that tourism is a business, and business is inherent to the private sector – but also actions from the public sector.

These actions, which fall under the responsibility of the public authorities, are what are known as public tourism policies.

No tourist destination that lacks well-defined public tourism policies will be able to evolve as an organized destination. Many grow in a disorganized and unplanned way, but this growth, unfortunately, is not sustainable. And, without planning and well-defined public policies, they succumb to mass tourism or have their image tarnished.

These public policies, in turn, need to reflect not only the characteristics of this location, but also the needs and demands of the tourism industry, the community, and the tourists themselves, who are also active participants in the sector's activities.

And for them to effectively bring about this characteristic, it is essential that they be developed in a participatory manner, always based on the concept of politics, linked to the management of the city/state.

The participation of the community, trade, and third sector (without forgetting to listen to tourists as well) is therefore crucial for the success of a destination; in other words, structuring a participatory public policy is fundamental.

And this public policy must be reflected – and foreseen – in the Municipal Organic Law, in the Municipal Master Plan, it must guide and compose the Municipal Tourism Development Plan and effectively become a public policy in the form of law, duly approved and regulated.

The process is not simple. It is systemic and structural and must be thought out strategically, methodologically, and, above all, by people qualified to develop these documents, and here, I call upon (or plead for) the responsibility of tourism professionals, of course, in public management. No one is better suited than a professional with training in the field of tourism to develop this work.

A public policy structured in a participatory manner, in the form of law, organized, managed and implemented by a qualified team: this is the most basic principle for the development of a sustainable tourist destination.

Thus, this initial reflection aims to plant this seed: the development of tourist destinations is intrinsically linked to the existence of well-structured public policies in the sector.