The Natal Tourism Centre (RN, Brazil): subsidies for the study of the historic centre

Abstract

Natal, capital of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Norte, annually receives two million tourists, mainly from the sun and beach segment. Its historic centre was classified by Iphan as a Brazilian cultural heritage in 2010. In this article, we seek to identify the potential and weaknesses of cultural tourism, starting from the historic centre of Natal. To this end, we carried out a case study, from the Tourism Centre, which is located in the aforementioned historic centre. In this context, semi-structured interviews were applied to businessmen, tourism secretaries - municipal and state - and tourists. We conclude that, despite some advances, the historic centre remains in a secondary position in political and economic options. In addition, the triangulation of Natal's culture, tourism and public policies allows the identification of positive and negative skills that make it possible to characterize the current situation of cultural tourism in the city.