Heritage, tourism and space production: appointments about the fest de Sao Benedito in Braganca, Para, Brazil

The municipality of Bragan & ccedil;a is located in the Northeast region of the State of Par & aacute; in Brazil. It is a municipality that presents relevant representativeness from the social, economic and cultural point of view (CRUZ, 1955). They celebrate one of the most representative feasts of Par & aacute;, the Feast of St. Benedict, which attracts thousands of people annually. In view of these observations, we ask: what are the relations between heritage, tourism and the production of space from the Festa de S & atilde;o Benedito in the city of Bragan & ccedil;a? Is it possible to implement sustainable cultural tourism that contributes to local development? The objective of this work is to analyze the relation between patrimony, tourism and the production of space from the Feast of Saint Benedict. Bibliographical and documentary surveys, on-site observations, photographic records, semi-structured interviews with public agents linked to patrimony and tourism, representatives responsible for organizing the festival, local residents and tourists were carried out. It was observed that there is a close relationship between heritage, tourism and the production of space in Bragan & ccedil;a, especially in relation to Marujada de S & atilde;o Benedito. It was understood that tourism is a strong activity in the municipality at some periods of the year, including during the Festival of S & atilde;o Benedito and that more sustainable cultural tourism will only be possible through greater awareness and investment in this process.