Potencialidades Para o Ecoturismo no Município de Iguaí/BA

Abstract

The article has as objective to present potentialities of tourism development in the city of Iguaí/BA, located in the Microregion of Vitória da Conquista, South-Central region of the State of Bahia. The research is justified for being a relevant theme from the practical and theoretical point of view and it is expected to contribute to the discussions on tourism from the perspective of geographic science. The methodology used in the research counted on the analysis of the theoretical referential about the subject, by means of authors who work with themes related to tourism, ecotourism and geography, data and information survey from public organs and field work. The softwares used for geoprocessing the information were UTM Geo Map and Quantum Gis. The research showed that the city of Iguaí has several areas suitable for the practice of ecotourism and other segments of nature tourism. In recent years the state and municipal governments have developed activities in an attempt to structure ecotourism in the municipality, such as the creation of the Environmental Protection Area (APA) in 2006. In the research it was possible to verify that the public and private initiatives for structuring tourism in the municipality have generated socio-spatial transformations in the landscape. It was also observed that, although still little structured, the presence of tourism in the municipality has produced environmental, economic and social interferences in the geographic space.