Abstract

GANDARA, José Manoel et al. The Strategic Planning of a Historical-Cultural Experiential Tourist Itinerary in Itabuna, Bahia, Brazil. Estud. perspect. tur. [online]. 2012, vol.21, n.1, pp.225-248. ISSN 1851-1732.

Itabuna has been one of the most important cities in the interior of Bahia. For decades the production of cocoa gave it a prominent position in the state economy. At the end of 1980s, pests such as "witch's broom" ended the cocoa monoculture in the region and alternatives must were sought. The objective of this article is to analyze the potential of designing a historical/cultural experiential tourist product in Itabuna. In order to achieve this objective, a bibliographical and documental review and semi-structured interviews were undertaken. The external and internal environments were analyzed and through SWOT analysis the possibilities to design the product were identified. The relevance of this analysis and the formation of a historical/cultural route is established to the extent that, during the period of cocoa, a civilization was built, the so called the "Cocoa Civilization", marked by the struggle for land, by gunmen, the luxury of colonels and the mixture of different cultures such as indigenous peoples, African, Lebanese and Portuguese, who settled in the area. The itinerary is based on places of memory that contribute to tell stories of the Cocoa Civilization, so well portrayed in the literature of Jorge Amado. The itinerary is underpinned in the dream society and the experience economy concepts, which emphasize the value of emotion and subjectivity over reason and objectivity and of the intangible over the tangible.

Keywords : Strategic planning; Memory; Experiences; Emotions; Tourism.

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