Gestao publica e a competitividade de cidades turisticasa experiéncia da cidade do Salvador, A

Abstract

The subject of this thesis is the public management and competitiveness of tourist cities as illustrated by Salvador, the capital of Bahia. Through wide research comprising documented information and direct interviews, it is possible to reconstruct the evolution of the Public Institutional System of Bahian Tourism and confirm its importance for the State Tourist System from its inception in the 1930s until the present. This reconstruction allows one to observe that tourism in Salvador, which has a centralized and authoritarian model controlled by public state power, has expanded. Such expansion, however, has occurred in a concentrated form, following the movement of local income, occupying the peripheries of the city, and further aggravating the current socio-spatial imbalance. The challenges that face Salvadors reaching greater touristic competitiveness are numerous, and they do not depend solely on the form of management, although this could contribute to the process. Research conducted with local tourist agents made it possible to confirm the importance of public management in the performance of tourism in Salvador, and at the same time reaffirmed the necessity of changes in tourist management in order to achieve more competitiveness. Tourist management in Salvador is seen here as a mechanism able to maximize the comparative advantages of this city, transforming them into competitive advantages, stemming from a deep understanding of local reality and incorporating the territory and local tourist agents that have been excluded, in whole or in part, from previous models. It is proposed that the State participate as motivator, regulator, and conductor of the process, in partnership with other agents such as the municipality, the private sector, and the third sector. This new form of management could contribute to the qualification of Salvador, making the most of existing resources and making the city more attractive in order to receive new flows of people and capital, thereby reinforcing the upper echelons of competitiveness to be reached. Keywords: 1. Tourism 2. Public Policy 3. Salvador (BA) - Urban Touristic Development 4. Local Development Salvador (BA) 5. Competitiveness. "