Brasília, June 9, 2004 (Agência Brasil) - The preservation of patrimony in historical cities offers an additional drawing point for tourists, be they Brazilians or foreigners. Despite the fact that Pirenópolis and Goiás, both in the state of Goiás, are somewhat removed from the country's major urban centers, such as Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, tourism has shown significant development in the Center-West region, mostly in consequence of the old houses and centenarian churches.
In the city of Goiás, the tourist spot with the largest number of visitors is Cora Coralina's house, where the famous poetess lived and died at the age of 95. Restored after the flood at the end of 2002, the city has various museums and churches that spark the attention of tourists. Besides Cora Coralina's house, the studio of the artist Goiandira do Couto and the Sacred Art Museum, which contains works by Master Veiga Valle, known as the "Aleijadinho of Goiás" (a reference to the most famous Brazilian sculptor of the colonial period, "Aleijadinho," who lived and worked in the neighboring state of Minas Gerais), enrich the local tourist itinerary.
"The city of Goiás is a rather select destination. It has only 800 hotel beds, but it has the houses of Goiandira and Cora Coralina, among other attractions. It is useless to imagine that we shall have millions of tourists, but here we have the best tourists, those who want a special experience, who seek tranquility," pondered the secretary of Tourism of the state of Goiás, Marcelo Safadi.
In his view, the tragedies that occurred in both Goiás and Pirenópolis had a positive side. In Goiás the occupancy rate at inns and hotels used to be 40% in the month of January, considered the slow season, due to the rains. It fell to 10%. "That flood was very perverse in terms of the news; the impact suffered by the city was much less than what was reported. In fact, the publicity was good, because it helped to speed up the recovery." In Pirenópolis, the effect was the opposite. The televised image of the church in flames attracted the attention of various people who were unfamiliar with the city.
PRODUCT
The secretary also indicated that the solution to the problems faced by cities declared part of the historical patrimony lies in the interest of the population and partnerships with government agencies. "The two cities are they way they are, thanks to the population. What we are doing, in terms of public administration, is teaching these communities how they can convert this historical and cultural patrimony into an economic asset, how to transform this potential into a product, attracting tourists," he considers.
Despite the focus on the region's tourist potential, Safadi affirmed that he doesn't intend to compete with famous, traditional tourist destinations on the coast, such as Salvador, Fortaleza, or Recife. "We are concerned with the question of quality; we don't have the ambition to compete with these cities from the perspective of international receptiveness. We want to offer a special product that preserves the serenity for tourists to be able to experience a new culture, not just of Goiás but all of Central Brazil," he concludes.
Reporter: Marina Domingos
Translator: David Silberstein
