Atributos de competitividade para destinos turísticos aplicados á Unidade de Conservação: proposição de framework para análise e orientação estratégica

Abstract

Although the competitiveness of tourist destinations has gained prominence among the themes that make up the agendas of academics and government officials in recent decades, generating the proposition of robust reference models and contributing to their definition and theoretical delimitation, when transported to the field of application to different contexts, or that of a specific tourist attraction, as is the case of Conservation Units (CUs), require the adaptation of their criteria and attributes to the specificities of the attraction itself. In order to contribute to this adaptation, this research is concerned with proposing a reference structure for analyzing the competitiveness of conservation units as tourist attractions, capable of capturing both attributes that condition competitiveness already consolidated for destinations, and those that can translate the context and specificities of the UCs tourist attraction. The research is conducted using a qualitative methodology in two stages: the first was dedicated to the office deck for analysis and compilation of models already consolidated on the topic, from which the conceptual framework of the competitiveness attributes applied to the UCS proposed in the thesis was built, constituted of 4 dimensions 13 attributes and 24 indicators. In the second stage, the framework is validated by applying it to 3 UCs in Mozambique, characterizing the multi-case study. The techniques used were document analysis, compilation of data from secondary sources, field research, through in-person visits to collect data on site, interviews with managers, legislators and other UC actors. Data reading and interpretation were based on techniques such as content analysis, through the interpretation of primary and secondary data extracted from the survey, individual case studies - Màgoé, Gorongosa and Limpopo, in Mozambique, Africa. The results made it possible to draw some conclusions regarding the theme and context of the competitive conditions and sustainability of the UCs studied. Fremework proved to be adequate in preposing attributes that contributed to measuring the tourist competitiveness of conservation units and that reflect the premises of sustainability and the specificity and complexity of UCs. It allows evaluating the evolution of the situation of UCs in meeting the attributes, comparison between themselves and individually, in the face of international destination competitiveness criteria, map the difference in situations or realities in the UCs analyzed in terms of their current capacity for tourist competitiveness as well as reveal the potential and trajectories towards more robust competitive positions in terms of destination competitiveness , in this context, Gorongosa Park was found to have a strong competitive situation, Limpopo Park to have a more vulnerable competitive situation and finally Màgoé Park to be further away from the criteria or less competitive. Therefore, it is considered a theoretical model valid for a destination such as UC.