2

Tourism, and preserved areas in Brazil and

United States.
© Copyright by Victor Aquino, 2001, 2006
WEA Books & Publishing Inc.
Monroe, LA USA

All rights reserved. Inquires should be addressed directly

to World Editions of America, Books & Publishing Inc,
94 Elm St, Monroe, Louisiana 71201 USA

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 The herewith reflections were motivated
from an apparent need on reviewing tourism
concept, tourism market and tourism services,
coming to light, not only from this study
context, but also from implications that tourist
use of certain areas brings out to environmental
conservation.
And the use of preserved areas has been
more and more evident by causing, sometimes,
debatable transformations, which most of the
time simply contribute with the spread of
environment depredation.
That is the reason why there is a need of
a conceptual review of this field of study, of
course, emphasized more towards the study of
the behavior from those who use these services
to the exploration of it as business.
Since, as noticed, that is the data known
from this who is considered the “leading role
character” in which the process tourism process
cycle is developed, that is the tourist
him/herself, who justifies more and more the
awareness of this process as a whole.
Thus, the understanding of tourist process
originates from the data collected from the
leading character, bringing to conclusion that
they not only make improvements on defining
tourism as a field of study, but also modify
certain postures regarding some areas

4
transformation in turning them into places for
tourist purposes.
Some orthodox academic postures, of
course, when analyzing the whole process in
which environmental areas are included in the
tourist consumption purposes, tend to do so by
taking into consideration as priority those areas
potential.
When, in the other hand, they should
concern about the use purposes of these areas
centered in the consumers/users or, as already
mentioned above, the leading character of such
process.
Mario Beni1 characterizes the man as the
subject of tourism, the subjective element of
such process.
Unnecessary, of course, to mention that
being the man mainly the center of a business
in which the proportions not only alter the
environment, but mainly the culture and
behavior before coming to the main character
of such process, should the human being
understand that the sense of a fundamental
entity that determines market reasons,
destination of politics incentive for exploration
of spaces as well as reasons for generating
opportunities of tourism among them.
By leaving intentionally sideways the
treatment of the data that are usually referred
not only to differences among the amount of

5
people which leave or come to the country in
such conditions as to politics implication
(existent or not) for the development of the
section, an approach is searched to facilitate
the justification of a field of study even more
committed to the so called marketing-demands.
Therefore, it must be taken into
consideration that the mechanisms which
qualify the market, by justifying areas
exploration and eventually necessary
investments for its ad equation and
development, place the interest of the user in
the main observation line in such locations.
Centering the basis of such reflections on
plans of interests concerned to areas on which,
perhaps thank to media, or maybe to
implications on the particularly-correct, or
probably to a feedback of the taste for the
unusual or for the exotic, more and more often
in all sectors of contemporary life, a series of
inquires that leads to new discussion of the
concept of tourism is unchained.
More and more, as noticed, a tendency of
the use of the so called natural patrimonies has
guided toward a diametrically opposed direction
of whatever is practiced so far in this context.
That means, exploration for the
exploration, typically of commercial
characteristics, of the spaces figured all over
the world as mechanisms of promotion from
something named “Ecological Tourism”.

6
 But, in fact, that is an excuse for the
indiscriminate use of something that should
deserve reservation for a total protection.
Tourism is basically a process that
involves five activity cycles in which its
interdependence results of materializing the
respective business.
Such interdependence cycles can be
represented by the business of transportation,
housing, restoration, support services, and
entertainment of those who need to move for a
variety of reason.
There might be many explanations leading
to definitions and concepts of area. However, as
tourist business has been far so long guided
since the beginning of transportation cycle, it
should be understood that the respective
process has assumed a much stronger sense
with the dimension of the meaning of
displacement (the condition of something that
can be represented by the act of “going
somewhere”) than the dimension of the
meaning of physical foundation of those who
have already been displaced (the condition of
something that can be represented by the event
of “being”).
The other cycle of this process such as
restoration, supporting services and consumer's
entertainment, they turned out to be
considered somehow too late without
incorporating meaningful data and the inclusion

7
of its study, as well as admitting a lack of an
understanding of those activities real meaning.
Therefore, reflections presently purposed
are more than just appropriate, once they
concern consumer's point of view while
addressee of all cycles and as the object of
study from his/her own behavior.
So, from this point of view, all and any
approach of this process is referred as based on
the consumer's behavior dimension, and also as
being responsible for all changes in the
conception and use of tourist business.2
So, it would be convenient and adequate
to assume that the study of space usage in
preserved areas, with tourist exploration
purposes, can be determinant to introducing
reflections which brings to the conclusions that
a change in business concept, observing the
nature of new places to be explored, or being
used as tourist business only, also drive to a
new model of concept in tourism study.
The introduction of a new cycle,
previously absent of this process, results in a
treatment posture regarding this matter. A new
cycle is already known, regards to nature of the
“place” as object of tourism exploration.
Because of previously it had never had a
great importance, for establishing a concept of
tourism process, to knowing the “place” as it
was Tokyo, Paris, Bogota, London or New York,

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and as it turned out to be fundamental today.
So the idea of transportation, housing, support
services and entertainment of those who travel
changes a lot with the exaltation of preserved
areas as places for tourist exploration.
An idea accepted by a great number of
specialists in tourism today is that this is the
industry which processes natural resources
without deteriorating them and it cannot be
generalized as a definition, for most general
that is.
And that is because tourism is a matter of
business and this condition has established the
process in which it is produced, advertised, sold
as tourist services for consumers.
It is not important, however, the nature of
the business: being it a water fountain, a great
convention center, sightseeing and
transatlantic, or students monitored trips to a
great ecological reservation.
Such business will always represent, in
the group of resource processing, a certain
degeneration.
A single fact can be used as indicator of
the caution regarding to environmental
preservation: it is known that a great number
of people, above the natural and constant levels
of any area, always generate a large amount of
dejection that can commit its integrity.

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 So, neglecting the treatment of those
dejection, area access inconveniently opened to
users without due preparation or improperly,
neglecting the control of the use, it can
damage, or prematurely deteriorate the “place”,
as well as the commitment of the users attitude
who will incorporate this way of using it as
natural as possible and will wind up
endangering the market integrity, while being
consumer of such process.
Nevertheless, it is important to point out
that tourism shall not be misunderstood while
preservation ideas only, environmental
valuation or cultural contact.
Although of great importance, those ideas
also have a great content dimension which is
explained only from a global market
understanding.
If, in a way, they should guide
development and tourism product use, in the
other, they do not get to be enough for
establishing an understanding of an specific
process of offer & consumption.
That occurs because a similar process
involves, above all this, the behavior factor,
especially because it rests in the consumer of
such product the articulation mechanism
between the offer and consumption of
preserved areas.

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 While consumer, the tourist is placed in
the market as the agent who seeks for
advantages of well accomplished business,
being predisposed to an attitude in larger or
smaller scale in the understanding of what
natural patrimony really is; and also the
necessity of its preservation, but only if such
components have deserved a forecast in the
course of business.
As it is noticed, from a very practical point
of view, tourism can be preserved as this
process by means of which transportation
services, housing, feeding, purchasing, and
entertainment take place for those who need to
go somewhere.
It is not important, however, the distance
it the need has been pure business, study or
leisure. Likewise, the tourist is the leading
character and the predominant of the process
who establishes the nature and dimension of
the necessary services.
From this point of view tourism can also
point out, besides a field of study of users'
behavior, to innumerous scenarios of study and
research.
Of course, different understandings can be
presented not only in the tourism process when
a phenomenon of consumption production,
widespread today, but also in the elaboration of
tourist products.

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 Nevertheless, it is important to
understand the economic function of an activity
that properly inserted can represent notable
instruments for local and regional development.
Likewise, some social aspects, coming
from the economic function of this activity
contribute to redefining service and
dimensioning its offer by making it somehow
dynamic, a market in constant mutation.3
The institutional precautions to insert
preserved areas in the cast of tourist
exploration have been many. In Brazil, and all
over the world, efforts have been made to the
exploration of such areas possible.
In the United States, for instance, most of
all National Parks are object of that utilization.
However, of course, they undergo a rigorous
use control in order to decrease deterioration
effects from the users' affluence.
The economic parameters of Brazil and
the United States, in terms of tourism, are
obviously different.
In spite of the respective physical area are
equally large and possessors of an ideal
diversity for tourist4 exploration, the condition
in both countries vastly differ.
When in the United States the springs
have been a matter of planning and controlling
for decades, in Brazil the development of efforts

12
to protect and use environmentally protect
areas is sort of recent.
The fact of being located in Brazil the only
rainforest, five of great proportions, still
remaining in the planet, it contributes
significantly so that there is a concern as being
one of the main attribute of government plans
in tourist exploration.
Nevertheless it is important to point out
that abundant natural resources themselves are
not enough in the United States, Brazil, or any
other place for establishing large scale tourist
projects.
It should be taken into consideration that
natural resources is one of the tourism raw
material and it turns out to be useful in this
market when it is transformed into tourist
product.
The Brazilian Amazon, for instance, as
many other of places considered ecological
patrimonies, has elicited discussions and
controversies all over the planet.
Likewise, little by little, it begins to be
noticed that such patrimonies should not
depend only on government decisions from the
regions they are located.
Anyway, rainforest, grottos, springs,
waterfalls, natural nurseries of classified fauna,
as well as geographical accidents specifically
determined, areas of intangible minerals and

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other natural resources tend to transform
themselves into sacred objects non available for
tourist exploration in the name of
environmental conservation and preservation.4
Would that be, however, a rational political
attitude?
In the United States, as well as in
countries where the policy for rational use of
preserved areas, these initiatives occur from
local communities concerns which are directly
involved to preservation and use of such areas.
Most of the time, in the behalf of
progress, lots of rainforest contents, fauna and
constant flora of entire areas that did not even
undergo through preservation were decimated.
Community initiatives might then have
been the only means of instrument in which
their intangibility was guaranteed. However,
concerning Brazil, there is no similarity at all
because places such as Amazon and Pant anal,
for instance, begin inspiring caution much
earlier to its utilization in large scale like tourist
areas.
When it does not remain much of the old
trails, rural landscapes, bucolic roads to the
most distant interiors of the country, the man
finds out that he is still looking for places where
his likeness to make natives resist the harmful
effects of progress.

14
 They are solitary places, where we should
have never been, but the lack of preparation
and commercial greed are of great attraction.
The phenomenon of nature are, as well as
great human facts, reference points all over the
world and, therefore, points to be seen in this
research of the unknown, or not well known,
still part of worldwide tourism.
Sometimes, the man himself goes to
certain areas for religious reasons. These are
the cases of the Islamic Pilgrims to Mecca, the
Pilgrims in Tibet; the view of the Holy Grave is
Jerusalem, Lourdes Sanctuary in France, the
Temple of “Nossa Senhora de Fatima” in
Portugal, or others in Brazil, like “Nossa
Senhora Medianeira” and “Nossa Senhora
Aparecida”.
This entire not to mentioning more bizarre
places such as “Vale do Amanhecer” in Brasilia,
or the mystic place of “Sao Tome das Lertas” in
Minas Gerais, as well “Machupichu” in Peru, or
“Isla de la Pascua” in Chile.
These places are visited by million of
people throughout the year. These visits may
occur due to aesthetic, religious reason, or
simply sightseeing. Places such as Taj Mahal or
The Wall of China, mentioning two great places
only.
Sometimes the Grotto of Ban that
fascinated the Roman Emperors also exercises

15
this fascination on tourists from all over the
world. Likewise, the incline Tower of Pisa, the
Pyramids of Egypt, or the runners of the Louvre
Museum.
These places translate another dimension
of tourism to million of people, which justify a
lot the concern by focusing this study field from
user behavior and the nature of the place used.
The Brazilian tourism was systematized by
Federal Government's initiatives since 1996,
when a series of measures and incentives were
put into practice.
The recording of these data brings out to
a certain perplexity only due to the date that
the State Government decided to consign
importance to the sector, an so essential and so
neglectful economic activity.
Twenty years after that initiative, the
incentives became instinct by leaving the sector
completely neglected.
Besides the fact that the so called tourism
industry has produced in Brazil, direct or
indirect transactions, in 1994, of about US$ 45
billion (making it possible to collect about US$
8billion in taxes), the country still receives
fewer tourists than Uruguay.
This is due to the fact that, thank to
weakness, specialists begin to engender
mechanisms of use from preserved regions as

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an alternative of appealing and attracting local
and abroad users.
In spite of the inferiority conditions found
by the Brazilian tourism in the South America
context, this sector employs around 6 million
workers, with an annual income transaction of
US$ 16 billion.
These data, provided by the World Travel
and Tourism Council (WTTC), also shows that,
in Brazil, 1 out of 6 workers has his/her work
directly or indirectly linked to that activity.5
However, as all government publication is highly
promotional, such data itself can be considered
an exaggeration.
The document with the data mentioned
says that “in spite of being responsible alone for
more than 50% from the total income of
tourism and trips in South America and
possessing the largest tourism potential of the
continent, Brazil's participation in the world
tourist market was of 0.3% out of the total
international trips in 1993.
So, it will be worthless, for instance, all
the investment efforts made by institutions of
the second cycle.
As said before the first activity cycle is
transportation. Without vast improvement in
this area success in the second cycle,
accommodation, is daggered.

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 Hatch of balance and harmony among the
face activity cycles, transportation,
accommodation, conservation, support services
and entertainment can only result in tourist
dissatisfaction.
Tourist behavior is indicative of the nature
of the demand for which the infrastructure must
be prepared. New York and Paris represent
different ways of dealing with the tourist.
Long before, it has been noticed that
there is a great unbalance and lack of harmony
among all these process members.
As seen in the country, transportation
policy itself does not match tourist reception
potential nor places considered as more
prepared to absorb tourist's contingents that
annually occur.
To develop tourist implementation plans,
tourism has to be focused as a matter of
problem. Problem because it has in its center
the illustration of the user who, as human
being, behaves him/herself and reflects
behavior.
These behaviors have been for long seen
as indicative of demand (and also serving as
market condition explanatory) than of what
should be changed in order to adapt him/her
into environment.
And to locate the problem of tourism in
Brazil, we should previously understand

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international tourism great realities. As it was
said, New York and Paris alone represent
different ways of dealing with the tourist.
The subway system of the French capital
must be excellent for its inhabitants. But would
that be of attendance solution to tourists? The
New York Yellow Cabs, also, apparently
sufficient, became an object of dispute among
tourists and local citizens. And as the local trade
universe has been a tough object of dispute
among them as well.
By keeping this in rationally mind, it
should be questioned what the best receptive
posture is: charge for toilet use, usually rare
and unavailable, or even offer them in sufficient
quantity and clean?
All this can be compatible with mass
tourism, contributing a lot more to increasing
trade due to the tourism flow. Because, as it is
known, the key of such business is the person
him/herself.
The posture of the “avoid the tourists”,
last ironic New Yorkers store owners' joke can
be latent in other postures worldwide, although
yet not declared.
One good example of it is the lack of
success in tourist business from the Inns in
Portugal. They can, circumstantially, represent
some commercial success within Europe after
this pasteurization of nationalities coming from

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the European Union. However, a not qualified
way of treatment of avoiding the tourist that
has taken place in these countries, by giving
the excuse that lodging is not necessarily a
hotel, is now established.
The mistakes of the Inns, imposition to
local taste and habits, together with cultural
hypocrisy of aiming the money of the tourists
only, turns the picturesque into bizarre, the
native into primitive, and the simple man into
illiterate.
The thing is that all over the world there
are internationalized ways of “Avoiding the
Tourist”, by making the user incompatible to
environment and by confusing these business
enterprises.
Aberrances such as “Sexual Tourist” in
Brazil, whose client reception by European
companies transform the natural scenarios into
a huge bawdy-house; significantly contribute to
deform the country image and other
attractiveness in campaigns of international
promotion.
Other aberrations are sometimes found
out later on only. That's the case, for instance,
of Carioca' tourist guides who crowd the tourist
support service for Brazilian tourists in New
York.
It should always be taken into
consideration that cultural insertion of

20
professionals acting in certain realities. That is,
the origin of the guides does not matter, but it
is extremely necessary that they do know the
reality the are acting in.
The experiences faced by Brazilians who,
in the last few years, tried to discover other
scenarios in other geographies in several
cultures has been innumerous.
By the end of this century - we say that
as a saying - Brazilian are discovering the
world. But it is also said that first they haven't
discovered their own country yet. However,
Brazil, this huge country of great geographic
and culture varieties, should be prepared to be
discovered, either by Brazilians or citizens from
all over the world.
Therefore, a tourist exploration policy
regarding environmental preservation and non
saturation of spaces should be formulated
properly.
Reflections like these can be a start point
to understanding the causes and reasons why
Brazilians are doing, little by little, what
Americans used to do long in the past.
When they travel throughout the world
looking for new horizons and personal
satisfaction, they are touched by the instigating
contact with other cultures and by doing this
they increase their own knowledge horizons.

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 But what kind of phenomenon is that in
which, in 1995, would had taken 54% of the
tourist who left Brazil to the United States and
not to monuments of the world?
A good explanation would be that leisure
tourism, pure and simple, is not the one
particularly chosen by those Brazilian tourists,
by leading at least to one question: What do
they do during their trips to New York, Florida
and other parts of North America?
In the 50's, it was emphasized the idea
that American citizens were living their
consumer's dreaming moment, right after the
difficulties faced during the 30's and 40's.
Would postwar have consecrated that
ideal, by making reflections to human
happiness based on the new conquest of
him/herself after the high profits of the war?
The same war that by chance approached
Brazilians and Americans.
That approached based, however, in the
utilization of military bases in Brazilian territory
would consecrate a coexistence strategy, still
consecrated today.
From this point on, however, together with
the influence of cinemas, it is established in
Brazil a new cultural entail fundamentally
marked for consumption icons: blue jeans, coca
cola, rock'n'roll, and all new linguistics

22
established by American advertising companies
that also began to settle down in the country.
Suddenly, the culture and American
fashion invade the Brazilian ideal, by moving
aside the elements of European culture, more
and notably the French one in the perfected
elements of consumption, allowed by that time
only to wealthy consumers.
Such situation developed by making that
youth's excesses were transferred to a common
natural root.
Today, however, it is very difficult to
establish distinctions among what is purely
behavior Brazilian in the tourist universe.
Therefore, hostelry pattern has as
reference the American hotel standard. Also, in
the same manner, the standard of fast foods is
originated from it. Not mentioning other habits,
expressions, and behavior used in the tourist
universe that practically integrates semantics
and grammar of American origin.
By taking those details into consideration,
with geographic approach and pricing
conditions, we can better understand the nature
of this popular tourism appeared in the last few
years in brazil which has as a destination the
purchasing paradises of Orlando and Miami.
Not mentioning other destinations such as
California, Chicago, Washington or new York.

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 But the destination port that attracts
Brazilian more from south to south of the
country is Florida.
The communication means are responsible
for the dilatation of the Brazilian aesthetic
values and the approaches of those with the
Americans. Under the same point of view, it can
be noted the most different values of cultural
assimilation.
It can be verified, by means of studies
from tourism and hostelry from American
universities, that the workability of tourist
business in Brazil depends on the little
government initiative and lots of investment.
Government initiative in this meaning
means to be just one: turning investments in
the sector economically viable without
restrictions nor reserves, nor protectionism.
Also including the ones from
transportation. Therefore, with this condition
guaranteed, investments will come up. And that
is due to an old market law that attracts the
interests about all apparent advantage, and it
consecrates investments in all consequent
business.
All kind of business should be pure
business only. And to make it more profitable it
should be developed making progress to the
ones who maintain it, including the country
itself, which can not stop hypocrisy or avarice.

24
However, they contribute to spoiling it much
earlier.
Tourism, as business focused on the
person him/herself such as health, living etc., is
highly vulnerable to eventual hypocrisy and
avarice to whom explore it - even in terms of
government. These are the main plagues to be
pulled by the root from this kind of business.
On the other hand, globalization has
made, partially, tourist business loose some of
its delight, surprise, divine disclosure and
discovery because mostly everything is known,
it has already been seen on TV, and we all know
how it works already.
And with globalization, media effects have
made tourism attractions change in a so
powerful dimension that we can barely
understand its real effect.
What are going to do in Rome, Stockholm,
Tokyo, Buenos Aires, Johannesburg or Istanbul
if we already know what is to be seen there?
Worse, if we already know that everything to be
seen is exactly the same we have in our
country?
Or more, When we know in advance that
we will fight with the crowd who will
simultaneously go to theaters, museums,
restaurants, or will be overcrowding ferryboats,
endless lines inside cathedrals, monuments,
malls, and whatsoever.

25
 The greatest globalization aberrance is the
commercialization of innumerous merchandizes
which are turned into modern consumption
icons in the tourist market like the unending
electronics list (most of them completely
useless) manufactured in many different places
and simultaneously sold in Rome, London, New
York, Abidjan, Sidney and Moscow.
It is extremely necessary to know these
realities so we can distinguish new areas asset
utilization that, with a greater contact to
nature, modify the usual behavior of tourists in
a process where conservation concern is
priority.
Therefore, what it is to be modified does
not matter, what it has to be taken into
consideration is the tourist process main
character: the tourist him/herself.
A large amount of users and values itself
from them derived,6 are more than enough to
establish an exploration criteria for new areas.
In 1996, the Brazilian GDP was of US$
750 billion, with a participation of 2.6%
represented by tourism section. In the same
period the American GPD was of US$3.6 trillion,
with a participation of 1.8% represented by the
tourism section.
It is not difficult to observe that tourism is
not a priority business in the United States.
Even so, the amount of money coming from it is

26
absurdly larger than in Brazil where, in spite of
the conditions, it can become an expensive
economic activity.
It is, therefore, extremely necessary to
study this phenomenon beginning with behavior
point of view mainly, to fundamentally establish
a human insert in the process.
Because, if in one way, the publication
examples of relevance of this matter are more
than enough, by justifying one area that since
the 50's plays a special role in worldwide
economy; in the other, it is urgent that studies
in the psychological field is stimulated
concerning user's participation, specially from
preserved areas, little by little including it as
spaces of tourism utensils.
Of course, it is true, and it shall be
mentioned that Brazilian bibliography, more and
more abundant in this matter, has justified such
demands.
Mario Canlos Beni, Doris Ruschmann,
Celia Dias and Mario Jorge Pines, among others,
have already thoroughly consecrated this
matter. And with the whole world crowed of
travelers day by day, with traditional places
packed, no more adequate thought should
come to mind that finding out a rational way of
exploring virgin areas without neglecting the
danger they will be going through if preventive
measures of controlled use is not taken.

27
Attached bibliography

1
Beni, Mario Canlos. Analise estrutural do turismo. Sao
Paulo, Senac, 1998, p. 39.

2
Bennett, L. “Advertising psychology and research”. In Review
of Tourism and Recreation, 1, 1976.

3
Harssel, J. Tourism: an exploration. Elmsdorf, NPBH, 1988.

4
Ruschmann, D.M. “Equipos e servicios para el turismo
ecológico en el Aazonas brasileño”, in Estudios y
Perspectivas en Turismo, 1, 2, 1992.

5
Ministerio da Industria, do Comércio e do Turismo. Embratur,
Instituto Brasileiro de Turismo. Politica nacional de
turismo: diretrizes e programas 1996-1999.
Brasilia, 1996.

6
Lage, Beatriz H. G. & Milone, Paulo Cesar. Economia do
turismo, Campinas, Papirus, 1998, 3S ed.

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