Application of sustainable tourism indicators in a bathhouse in a cerrado area in the municipality of Coxim – MS

Abstract

Tourism plays an important role in economic development and Brazil has a high potential for this activity. Ecotourism appears as a sustainable alternative to commonly used economic activities, and environmental indicators can be applied to identify and measure variations in one or more elements of an activity. This work has as main objective to apply environmental, social and economic indicators in an ecotourism activity in an inn and spa in the Municipality of Coxim, MS, in order to analyze the pros and cons of this activity. For the construction of the indicators used in this work, a bibliographical survey was carried out on the main indicators of environmental, social and economic impacts of ecotourism. Technical visits were also carried out to analyze and apply the indicators at the study site, in May 2019. A total of 25 sustainability indicators were applied (17 indicators in the environmental dimension, 4 indicators in the social dimension and 4 indicators in the economic dimension). It was possible to conclude that ecotourism activity uses methods with low environmental impact and induces economic and social development.