Internacional Seminar on Environmental Sciences / Seminário Internacional em Ciências do Meio Ambiente, Universidade Veiga de Almeida, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.
In this symposium I present together with Cleiton Ferreira, the founder of Quilombaque an NGO situated in Perus, a neighborhood on the outskirts of São Paulo. We present the the fieldwork activities that we do together every year, bringing community and students together to co-create sustainable destination. It serves as an illustration of how tourism and leisure can create a sense of place while at the same time increasing the livability of the region/destination. Furthermore, the partnership between Universities, NGO’s and communities can be potential to create resilient tourism destination projects.
Over the years, we have partnered with Quilombaque, currently developing leisure and tourism as means for local development. Since 2018 Quilombaque has started a tourism agency called “Agencia Queixada de Turismo”, where they invest in what they call turismo de resistência. Throughout the field trip students learn about Quilombaque’s innovative approach to destination development. At the same time, this fieldwork give the students a chance to apply their learning by being in the field connecting with stakeholders, with local culture and economical challenges.
