The state and tourism in Brazil: analysis of public policies in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

Souza, M. C. da C.

Pandemics mark periods of instability, disruptions, and complex changes in society. Today, the world is facing the pandemic of COVID-19, a disease caused by the new coronavirus. In all social dimensions, the effects have been significant, mainly because of social isolation, a measure considered efficient to stop the spread of the disease. In Brazil, isolation was established by the government and culminated in the temporary closure of developments that provide non-essential services, in which tourism is included. Therefore, the objective of this article is to discuss the role of the State in mitigating the impacts of the pandemic on the tourism industry, analyzing the public policies adopted and characteristics such as: political sphere, context, scope, content, and criteria for effectiveness. It is an exploratory and descriptive research, whose methodological path consisted of searching for keywords on scientific platforms and government websites and sectorial tourism institutions, both in Brazil and worldwide. The information obtained was organized, systematized, and analyzed using Content Analysis. The results show that the public policies implemented by the government are of a structural nature, with a focus on maintaining jobs and income for entrepreneurs and workers in specific segments of the production chain;provisional/emergency, therefore, restricted to the pandemic period;and regulatory, standardizing security and prevention protocols for COVID-19 during the economic recovery process. In general, the policies that most benefit the sector do not come from important portfolios for the activity, such as the Ministry of Tourism, but from other levels of government.