Research carried out by the US News & World Report website, in partnership with the Wharton School, at the University of Pennsylvania, indicated Brazil as the best destination for adventure tourism among 89 countries. The survey, which has been praised in several media outlets, placed the country ahead of Italy, Greece, Spain and Thailand, but has been viewed with reluctance by specialized agents here, some of whom classified it, with reservations, as of “nonsense” and “hunting for likes” due to the low representation of the 17 thousand interviewees — almost nothing in the global context.
One of the few to openly speak out against the research was Luiz Del Vigna, executive director of Abeta (Brazilian Association of Ecotourism and Adventure Tourism Companies), who this year completed 20 years of trying to bring order to the chaos that is segment in Brazil, through the training of professionals in the area and the fight for the standardization of activities.
“This research is nothing”, says Del Vigna, “it is a very small universe and, when you compare countries like Italy and Greece, which have no tradition of adventure tourism, and you don’t see Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, for example, finds that there is no truth there, it is only significant from a marketing point of view, but it does not reflect what we see in the country”.
When asked to comment on the research, the Ministry of Tourism (which recently published news of the research on its website) passed the discussion on to Embratur (Brazilian Tourism Company), which did not respond until the end of this text. Even so, the ministry’s advisors forwarded a note from the Minister of Tourism, Celso Sabino.
In it, the lawyer and politician from União Brasil who heads the department celebrates the research, saying that the news “has a positive impact on the international media”. He adds, and, come on, quite rightly, that “the growth of adventure tourism has been an important factor for economic development in several regions”, as it drives “small businesses such as inns, local tourism agencies, specialized guides and restaurants, boosting the communities’ economy.”
So far, everything is very beautiful.
But it could be much more if, as Del Vigna points out, around 70% of these businesses weren’t completely informal and, worse (sorry, Haddad!), outside of all safety rules and biome care.
“In the interior of the northeast, for example, 90% of adventure tourism activity is informal, there is no CNPJ to be responsible in case of accidents”, he says. “With informality comes disrespect for the General Tourism Law, which includes several standards for the safety of activities in nature, and low professional qualifications, which do not allow the Brazilian adventure tourism industry to be effectively recognized as something legal, with sustainability, safety, respect for the consumer code”, he adds, considering that “if it is true that adventure tourism today, in Brazil, is much better than it was 20 years ago, it is also a fact that we have a lot to improve, because with this uncontrolled increase we also have a increase in the number of accidents in the segment”.
With the good humor that is characteristic of him, Del Vigna dreams of adventure tourism that complies with all the norms and rules set out by law: “It’s a bit utopian to talk about it in a country like Brazil, right, a bit silly, but that’s how it has to be be. Or is it?”
Well then.
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