The peculiarities surrounding Belém, host city of the 30th United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP 30), should serve as attractions for hundreds of tourists who will visit the capital of Pará. During the two weeks of the mega-event, in 2025, the eyes of the world will be on the city. Whether for its cuisine, history, museums, islands, or for the importance the Amazon biome has been gaining in the international context, the metropolis will be in evidence for people from different countries. To serve this audience and, more than that, leave a legacy that transforms the lives of people in the region, it is necessary to overcome some obstacles.
From a tourism perspective, events such as COP 30 are considered agents of urban transformation and changes in existing models. This means that the requalification of spaces, their forms and functions, should aim at the socio-environmental development of a given region. This is expected to happen in Belém. The city has some structural issues that, according to researchers in the area, need to be taken into account so that tourism becomes indeed an attractive activity. The list includes matters such as macro-drainage services, implementation of collective public transport that meets the needs, creation of parks, restoration of igarapés [creeks] and improvement in collection of solid waste.
The lack of beds available for lodging in the capital of Pará is also a point that needs attention. Currently, the city has 13 thousand units available. According to Sindicato dos Hotéis, Restaurantes, Bares e Similares do Pará (SHRBS) [Union of Hotels, Restaurants, Bars and Similar Businesses of Pará], at least 40 thousand more are necessary to meet the expected contingent of the COP. Silvia Cruz, professor and director of Faculdade de Turismo da Universidade Federal do Pará (UFPA) [College of Tourism of the Federal University of Pará], says that the solution of this problem should be seen as priority by the Government. For her, alternatives such as cruise ships anchored in Belém can be effective. “We understand that the COP is a very important moment for the population.”
"Then, through a previous experience, we have the perception that another alternative could be the so-called homestays. A system is created, the population is summoned, of course, with a process of clarification, awareness raising, which could give support to these people so that they are able to receive visitors in their homes. We know that the audience of the COP is diverse. We will have the highest diplomacy, but we will also have teachers, researchers, students, rural workers, peasants, trade unionists, traditional populations. Those people who may also come here might not be willing to stay in a luxury hotel; they will want to experience the reality of the Amazon”, says Silvia.
Education
Given that tourism mobilizes not only the sector, but everything around it, as indirect parts of the economy, investing in education to improve this process, its dynamics, and to leave an extra legacy of the COP, has been one of the focuses while preparing for the event. It is in this sense that the Faculdade de Turismo da Universidade Federal do Pará (UFPA) began to promote training of students in a more specific way so that, in addition to presenting technical knowledge, they can propose better ways of thinking about the region because they are the region’s protagonists. “Why a COP in the Amazon? How important is that? It is not only to improve our structure, but what is its legacy?", asks the teacher.
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Tourism legacy of COP 30 must go beyond physical structures
According to Silvia, this awareness, along with the other factors brought by mega-events-such as the Conference of the Parties, work as subjective impacts for the region and allow local residents to establish their own propositions. "So, let's say that promoting knowledge, strengthening sociocultural ties, thinking about a project of another Amazon, but thought of by the population that lives here [is part of the Amazon]. We live it here, we know our rivers, our forest, so we don't need interlocutors; we have to be involved in this and we will only be able to get involved through training,” she adds.
"This legacy cannot be thought of only in terms of physical structure. We need to think of and long for a legacy that also results in changes, in the transformation of people's lives. So, COP 30 in Belém. But what do these people who come here want from the Amazon? What do they want to contribute to the local population so that we have a process of change in the social context, in the cultural context, in the environmental context? The structuring legacy is important, but the cultural legacy, the social legacy, our transformation are also important. We need them to see this Amazon, to see the populations that live here. We do want the COP to leave behind physical and structuring legacies; but we also want social and cultural legacies”, emphasizes Silvia.
Sustainable tourism
The type of tourism that the COP will bring, the so-called mass tourism, may not be the best option for a space like the Amazon. As Silvia points out, the impacts that this activity brings are big. However, the way out may be to stimulate sustainability within this process. “Based on this principle, it is clear that there are some elements of sustainability that need to be considered. One of the main ones is the protagonism of local populations. How is this tourism? First, let it be thought of by the locals. We cannot be naive to think that one can enter the market by oneself. We have to create channels of interaction with the market as well.”
Decent working conditions, clean drinking water, reuse of rainwater, getting rid of the use of plastic materials and straws are ideas that can promote sustainability and attract tourists. "Then, from this concept of sustainable tourism, we will have other typologies, such as ecotourism, which talks about sustainability. I will have community-based tourism, which mobilizes communities in a more controlled format, but generates income because people who want this type of tourism are willing to pay whatever price is charged for the use of those resources. Many tourists who choose a route that promotes this sustainable footprint do nothing outside of this concept because it is a principle”, she concludes.
COP 30 municipal committee says city will be ready for event
The structural challenges surrounding the preparation of Belém to receive both country delegations and tourists during the COP 30 have raised doubts about the city's capacity to host the event. However, Cláudio Puty, coordinator of the Comitê Municipal da COP [Municipal Committee of the COP], says the capital is moving in the right direction to host the Conference. “The task, from January to now, was to show that our works are committed to the Federal Government and will be concluded. All public biddings were carried out for the remodeling of Ver-o-Peso and the work has already started there; progress has been made in the São Brás Market and, in September, we shall launch the bidding for Parque São Joaquim - it will be an important change at the entrance to the city”, he says.
The requalification of the Historical Center of the capital is also a priority. Cláudio points out that the remodeling of Praça das Mercês, in the Commercial area of Belém, will be a space to promote the bioeconomy and allocate startups that advocate for the standing forest. “Every work and project we are carrying out is intended to leave a legacy. The reform of the Ver-o-Peso is crucial to improve the quality of the fairgrounds' workers; the São Brás Market was abandoned, but it will now become a tourist spot. São Joaquim, a linear park, will transform the relationship of the people of the Barreiro and Sacramenta neighborhoods with the river and will allow everyone to benefit", he adds.
Inbound tourism
Along with the works, an inbound [receptive] tourism plan is prepared, which involves requests to the Ministério do Turismo [Ministry of Tourism] for demands related to signaling. The goal is to make access to Belém's places more inclusive for visitors. "The signs in the city are old, we need mobility adequacy, sidewalks, preparation of young people, taxi drivers and volunteers in linguistics. We will launch a language training program soon so that we can have the opportunity to learn the languages and mingle with so many outsiders who come here. After this phase of works, Belém will be better than it is now. It is a matter of time”, concludes Cláudio.
Industry says it will not contribute to improving matters related to Hotels
Belem's Hotel Sector's lack of future perspective is an obstacle for investments in the area aimed at increasing the number of beds for COP 30. The projection is that from 70 thousand to 85 thousand visitors will arrive in the city during the two weeks of the event. Fernando Soares, SHRBS legal advisor, comments that this scenario is due to an uncertain post-COP. "The COP takes 15 days. What happens afterwards?", he questions. "Belém has no tourist vocation, it has no beaches, mountains... Nothing is produced here”, adds the spokesman of the entity.
Other factors, such as urban mobility, food and forms of payment are considered by the Union as determinants to solve the tourism issue for the COP. "Brazilians do not walk with money at hand, nor card; they pay more with PIX, which is a national invention. How are we going to solve this? Not all taxi drivers' machines, or restaurants, take international cards. About food, Belém is one of the gastronomic capitals of the country, but that does not imply that the French will eat maniçoba [a local dish] and will not feel sick. We have to train people in languages, informatics... So, there is a series of obstacles that the Government will have to overcome”, considers Fernando.
Ministry wants legacy to attract national and international tourists
The legacy intended by the Ministério do Turismo (MTur) [Ministry of Tourism] is to leave the capital of Pará - one of the main cities in the Amazon - prepared to receive national and international tourists. With this, as minister Celso Sabino reported to Liberal Amazon, the priorities range from the expansion of the domestic airline network to the increase in the number of hotel beds. "And the offer of qualification for the professionals who will receive visitors during the event, in order to guarantee the best tourist experience to everyone. I strongly believe in the legacy to be left to the city of Belém, to the state of Pará and to the entire Amazon region,” he emphasizes.
The connectivity of the region is still a challenge that must be tackled. The amount of people expected for the event should mean that the existing telephone network will not be enough. "That is why we are working hard, and I have no doubt that the COP 30 will be the best COP ever held and will leave an important legacy to our country. We have the Escola Nacional de Turismo [National School of Tourism] that will operate in our capital, which will change the threshold of Belém and of the entire Northern region in relation to other established destinations. Tourism is an important generator of employment and income and an effective means for promoting social inclusion, which is good for the whole world”, concludes Celso Sabino.
