Urban Tourism in São Paulo: theoretical considerations and empirical evidences

Abstract

This essay discusses urban tourism in São Paulo, arguing that in large cities it’s imperative to consider visitors’ behavior, understanding them as “place consumers” (SELBY, 2004b). In addition to official data provided by the local official authority (São Paulo Turismo S/A), 52 tourist attractions have been considered as the basic research unit, selected from a detailed review over the most renowned tourist guides and tourist information sources for the city of São Paulo. Their managers were asked to answer an electronic formular, whose aim was to categorize the origins of the visitors, among other information, yet not available in a single data-base. As result, it’s possible to state that the main tourist attractions in São Paulo are effectively visited by visitors from the São Paulo Metropolitan Area. It suggests that tourism planning and management in São Paulo have to take into account this audience and depicts urgency for broand and innovative regular data collection regarding the profiles of the “city users” (MARTINOTTI, s/d). To understand its characteristics (origins, displacement patterns, demands, spendings profile, experiences assessment etc) can contribute to coordinate urban policies with other tourism planning initiatives in urban contexts.