O turismo como base de desenvolvimento territorial: estudo de caso Corumbá-MS

Abstract

This doctoral thesis aims to understand the economic base of tourism in Corumbá, Mato Grosso do Sul (Brazil), and to analyze how institutional, symbolic, and systemic factors influence territorial development, considering the challenges and possibilities for constructing a local tourism identity. Although the municipality of Corumbá contains more than 44% of the Pantanal biome area, concentrated along the Paraguay River, and presents exceptional tourism attractions—especially related to sport fishing—there is still a lack of systematic studies that integrate the economic, institutional, sociocultural, and systemic dimensions of tourism in this territorial context. The theoretical framework articulates Douglass North’s Economic Base and Institutional Theory, Pierre Bourdieu’s social praxeology (habitus, field, and capital), and Mário Carlos Beni’s Tourism System Model (SISTUR). Methodologically, the research adopts a mixed-methods case study approach, using the Location Quotient (LQ) to measure economic specialization and Content Analysis to interpret documentary sources and participant observation data.The results indicate that Corumbá is a tourism-specialized territory, with Location Quotient values above 1 in all analyzed periods: 3.04 (2010), 3.74 (2020), and 2.15 (2024). However, the decline observed in 2024 reflects a loss of economic dynamism associated with institutional fragilities, administrative discontinuities, and path dependence centered on sport fishing. From a symbolic perspective, a dominant traditional habitus was identified, in which tourism is perceived as a natural vocation but lacks professionalization and innovation, resulting in a tourism field that is externally regulated and strongly dependent on the State. The systemic analysis based on the SISTUR model confirms that the tourism system is stronger in its isolated components than as an integrated whole, presenting exceptional environmental assets but significant gaps in governance (superstructure) and support infrastructure.The thesis concludes that tourism in Corumbá does not fully generate employment and income because its institutional and social bases have not been converted into an integrated and diversified economic structure. As an academic contribution to territorial development, a public policy proposal grounded in education is presented, aimed at strengthening Corumbá’s territorial tourism identity. This proposal seeks to overcome field fragmentation and reinforce governance mechanisms in order to activate local resources in a sustainable manner.