Proximity tourism in the coastal area of the State of Paraíba (Brazil): an advantageous economic driver

Abstract

In this article, thanks to a series of data processed by the Paraíba state tourism agency PBTur and the Brazilian statistical institute IBGE, recent tourist flows in the territory of Paraíba (Brazil) will be examined. To be able to fully understand these dynamics and contextualise them in relation to those of the other states of the Federal Republic of Brazil, the history of this state – whose Constitution dates back to 1989 – and of the north-eastern region of Brazil were reconstructed from a historical-geographical and economic perspectives. Thanks to these analyses, it was possible to determine the dichotomies and peculiarities of these Para-Brazilian holiday movements compared to the better-known northern tourist destinations of the country, and thus to explain their salient features.