Perfil dos visitantes na Cachoeira do Paraíso, Estação Ecológica Juréia-Itatins, Peruíbe, SP

Abstract

The Jureia-Itatins Ecological Station has been used for tourism for at least 25 years, without any kind of planning or control, and in opposition to the objectives of this protected area. In this paper, the visitors profile was evaluated, by using structured questionnaires. The interviews were conducted between May and July 2004. Seventy visitors were interviewed, and the results showed that, in the majority, tourists came from the São Paulo Metropolitan Region and from the cities located close to the park; a minority had origin in other states. The mean age is above 25 years and most of the tourists visit the park with their families. The majority of the visitors concluded the university or are undergraduate students. However, most of them do not have proper notions about the role and the importance of the protected areas, which shows the need of implementation of environmental education programs in schools and in the media.