Tourism development discourse dynamics in a context of conflicts between mining and nature conservation in the Brazilian Cerrado Hotspot

Abstract

The Cerrado is a world hotspot for nature conservation and an important tourist destination in Brazil. This region has been subjected to intensive land conversion for the production of commodities, which has led to the eruption of socio-environmental conflicts between tourism and extractive industries. In this article, we explore the dynamics of tourism development discourses that underpin the conflicts generated by mining projects in the town of Cavalcante and seek to inform on more adequate policymaking and promote human development. We employed multi-methods data collection techniques and a discourse analysis approach to assess the tourism development discourses that compete in local policy arenas and reflect upon policy outcomes that result from this process. We develop a three-stage chronology to show the dynamics of tourism discourses and reveal that sustainable tourism discourse served to generate a neoliberal modernization discourse. However, growing dissatisfaction with both tourism modernization and mining has generated resistance against mining among the affected communities. We conclude that leisure tourism and tourism modernization should be separated in public planning processes in contexts where socio-environmental conflicts are present, and that governmental and institutional mediation require a certain level of trust to ensure more balanced human development in such situations.