Potencialidades e limitações do turismo rural no município de Laranjeiras do Sul - PR

Abstract

This research discusses rural tourism as a complementary income-generating activity on the property and adding value to products, from the perspective of sustainable rural development. Its objective is to analyze the contribution of tourism to sustainable rural development in the municipality of Laranjeiras do Sul, through the characterization of inbound tourism, pointing out existing attractions; verifying whether the tourism activity located in the rural area of the municipality constitutes an alternative for generating employment and income for families, as well as analyzing the potentialities and limitations of the inbound tourism identified. The research has a descriptive and exploratory nature with characteristics of qualitative investigation, with the conduct of semi-structured interviews with key actors, representatives of public and private institutions of the municipality focused on rural areas and related properties/enterprises, interpreting the data through content analysis. The work has an introduction and theoretical framework to support the subject, bringing what sustainable rural development and rural tourism are in this context. It presents the role of public policies in the implementation of the activity. The results identified potentialities related to the beauty and natural resources of the municipality, as well as cultural and gastronomic resources and strategic location. Regarding limitations, the following were mentioned: the lack of awareness of the population regarding tourism activities and, mainly, the deficient local political situation. The contribution of rural tourism in the economic, social and environmental dimensions is evident. It is concluded that the municipality has potential to develop rural tourism, overcoming the existing limitations, with the successful example of the Nature Walk.