A costa de Paracuru: turismo, ocupação e perfil do usuário

Abstract

Tourism has become one of the most important activities worldwide in the last few decades. The activity is responsible for movement, significantly for the economy of many countries, generating employment and income. In Brazil, the importance of tourism is reflected directly in the public politics implemented over the last 30 years in this sector. Aiming for economical development, employment generation and social inclusion, the Brazilian government has invested massively in external and internal tourism. In the last 27 years, the amount of tourists arriving in Brazil has increased more than 300%. In 2006 and 2007, Argentina, the United States of America and Portugal, respectively, were the countries that most emitted tourists to Brazil. The international tourists, who came to Brazil in 2006, spent U$ 4.3 billion in the country, which represents 12% more than in 2005 and 116% more than in 2002. The Northeast of Brazil is known all over the world for its 3,300 km of coastline with beautiful beaches and natural attractions. The region has developed intensively as a result of investments from the Federal Government into the tourist sector. In the Northeast, the States of Bahia and Ceará are the most important poles for tourism. Most tourists attracted to this region are looking for leisure. In Ceará, the activity has been very lucrative which instigated real estate speculation, not only for the local investors, but also for the Europeans, especially those from Spain and Portugal, that are now implementing the large tourist complexes or resorts. Those structures have produced employment and profit, but they also have negative impacts on the local people, so-called “povos do mar” or “sea’s folks”. The study site is Paracuru Coast in the northeast of Ceará. This municipality shoreline has 17 km of extension and is internationally known for the practice of radical sports like surfing, windsurfing, kitesurfing, and many others. Yet it is also known by people who go to relax and enjoy the landscape. Paracuru is between two Environmental Protection Areas and the tourist flux in the region has increased since the 2000’s. Due to all the changes that have occurred in such a short time, there are few studies contemplating the social and environmental impacts on that coastal zone. Therefore, considering that the cases where the tourist activities have developed with compatibly to the preservation of the natural and socio-cultural resources are rare, the main purpose of this article is to analyze the kind of occupation and tourism, and the profile of the beach users in order to give support to the implementation and improvement of the quality of the services offered to the tourists. In addition it aims to provide important subsidies for operation and management actions on the coastal zone of this municipality. The methods consist of the application of geoprocessing techniques on high resolution satellite images which make it possible to know the geomorphological components, identifying the main forms of the use and occupation of the soil and some permanent risks for the sea bathing, and calculating the occupation rate. To understand the profile of the beach, users were given 160 questionnaires equally divided between the period of high season and low season. The questions were also organized to allow the gathering of quantitative and qualitative data on the beach users’ perception of the beach conditions, as well as in relation to the risks of the sea bathing on Paracuru littoral. According to the data analysis, the occupation process has increased recently due to the real estate speculation of the 1990’s, disrespecting the environmental legislation and the concepts of sustainable development. In 2002 the municipality received the highest number of tourists; one of the reason was the terrorist tensions in North America and Europe, but in 2003 this number was reduced by the low costs of travel abroad (travel to South America cost the same or cheaper than travelling to another region in Brazil). The tourist services and infra-structures are concentrated in the urban settlement and, according to local authorities, are sufficient to serve tourist demand in the region. However the hotels and inns are crowded during the high season. The occupation rate showed some strips of the beach presenting an occupation percentile of about 100% causing even greater erosive events. The questionnaires showed that the majority of those interviewed are tourists from Fortaleza, followed by people from other states (from the Northeast and Southeast), and other countries (Portugal, Spain, France and Argentina). These tourists go to Paracuru for leisure and the number of foreigners increases significantly in the high season. It is a public, in general, that present a high scholastic level and financial stability. To improve the quality and safety of the sea bath, the beach users themselves suggest the presence of lifeguards and signs pointing to adequate places for sea bathing. The results have showed that Paracuru has developed intensively with the investments in tourism. However, any development must consider environmental sustainability and the culture of the local population in order to preserve those resources for future generations. It is important that the tourist activities are compatible with the preservation actions in Paracuru, and with the public that frequent that beach and appreciate leisure on weekends and holidays