Turismo e desenvolvimento social: proposta de modelo de gestão de impactes dos empreendimentos hoteleiros (Inhambane, Moçambique)

Abstract

The significant massification of the tourist activity, over the last decades, has made this economic sector one of the most powerful at global level. However, unfortunately, in countless situations, the tourist development of the territories hasn’t resulted in effective social development of receiving communities. Because of this reality, several social impact assessment models have been developed by the academic community, to maximize the social contribution of the various tourist players. Despite this effort, the inherent difficulties to understanding and measuring the social impacts of tourism, as well as the neoliberal stance of most of its economic agents, have hampered the practical implementation success of such models. In this context, this thesis proposes a Social Impact Management Model for Hotel Enterprises, the SIM Hotel model, capable of being adjustable to the geographical context and the different hotel classifications. To this, it is necessary to understand the tourist and hotel market globalization phenomenon, the role of the State in the tourist development of the territories, the conceptual bases of the social development praxis and, finally, explore the social impact assessment models and the hotel activity assessment protocols in the market. As an empirical laboratory, one of the most prominent Mozambican tourist destinations, Inhambane County, was selected. Methodologically, implements the analysis model proposed by Aledo and Domínguez-Gómez, which, based on a constructivist paradigm, divides field research into three key moments: Baseline Study, Stakeholder Analysis and the Impacts Identification and Evaluation. In them, directors of the hotel sector, members of fifteen social groups impacted by their operations, nine government institutions and other representatives of local associations and local educational institutions are interviewed. Under the prism of Midgley and Max-Neef development theories, it is observed that, despite the strong impact of the hotel sector on local employability, its contribution to other social development spheres is not very useful. Signs of job insecurity, sparing assumption of corporate social responsibility, lack of cooperation with local institutions, erroneous environmental attitudes and little commitment to improving municipal welfare infrastructures are some of the detected problems. At the same time that an instrument for assessing the social impact of each hotel is presented and strategies for the implementation of the SIM Hotel model are suggested, it is concluded that, despite the high financial efforts required, it can be quite fruitful for the county. However, for its effective implementation, there is an urgent need to normalize institutional relations between hotel companies and government institutions, guaranteeing a respectful and reliable institutional dialogue. Community consultation forums and transparency policies are also essential.