Beyond faith: urban planning strategies and the construction of touristic narratives

Abstract

Despite the tourist potential, a problem that affects most small municipalities is the lack of resources for investments in infrastructure and publicity, since tax revenue alone is not always sufficient. The objective of this article is to investigate the regional tourism planning process in small cities with a high potential in the areas of ecological and religious tourism. Our research focus is the region of the tourist attractions of Vale do Paraíba, in the State of São Paulo, with emphasis on the municipalities of Aparecida, Cachoeira Paulista, Canas, Cunha, Guaratinguetá, Lagoinha, Lorena, Piquete, Potim, Roseira and Tremembé, that make up the Fé Tourist Region. Our methodology focuses on qualitative assessment, using content analysis, of the Master Plans and Tourism Master Plans of these cities, as well as collecting data available on institutional websites. Additionally, in this article, we explore the concept of “invented tradition” as defined by historian Eric Hobsbawm. This study reveals a complex interaction between “factual” and “invented” elements in the cultural context of a society, whose urban planning focuses on competitiveness between cities and alternative income generation.