Development of the tourist activity: the case of the State of Bahia (Brazil) and its tourist areas

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the development of tourist activity since early 2000s in the State of Bahia (Northeast of Brazil), focusing on its tourist areas and its recent economic performance. The main contribution of the study is to offer a vision of the growth of tourism sector of Bahia, and subsequently to provide guidelines to the design of sectoral and employment development policies. For the purpose of collecting information, secondary data were obtained from the Bank of the Northeast of Brazil (BNB), the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), the Ministry of Tourism (MTUR), the Bahia Secretariat of Tourism (SETUR) and the Research Institute of Applied Economics (IPEA). From these sources, we sought to map and characterize the tourism sector of Brazil, Bahia and its tourist areas. In the analysis of data the descriptive statistical method was used. It has been observed that Bahia’s tourism has improved in recent years, reflecting, at least in part, the efforts made to expand tourism infrastructure, attracting more tourists, increasing employment and, consequently, stimulating the state’s economic growth.