The flocking of Guaras as a tourist attraction: a case study on the coast of Brazil

Abstract

Brazil is one of the countries with the greatest diversity of birds in the world. Thus, its potential for bird watching tourism is evident, although it is a barely explored activity. To identify how this type of tourism has been organized in the country, a case study was carried out using as spatial cutout in the northeastern and southern coasts of the country, regions that have as a tourist attraction the flocking of the Guaras, a bird whose main characteristic is the reddish coloring of its feathers, and which was once on the ways of extinction. The paper presents an analysis of bird watching as a tourist attraction that can be used as a tool for interpretation and protection of the environmental patrimony. This is qualitative research, in which the methodological procedures involved bibliographic research and semi-structured interviews with representatives of four travel agencies in the states of Maranhão and Piauí (Paraíba Delta) and Paraná (Guaratuba and Guaraqueçaba Bays). As a result, it is indicated that birdwatching tourism in Brazil in the regions studied is not organized in the same way, since in the northeast, the analyzed tours were more commercial, where the Guaras end up becoming a secondary attraction in the commercialized tours, while in the south, due to the structuring of community-based tourism, a greater concern was noted in offering a small-scale tourism and more focused on environmental interpretation. As a bird that has been returning to its original habitats after a long period of disappearance due to anthropic actions, the Guará has a relevant importance in biodiversity. With this study, it is expected that there will be a rethinking in the ways of conducting tours so that birdwatching tours are not only about visual contemplation, but that they are permeated with values that can contribute to make the tourist aware of environmental protection.