Effects and transformations of tourism in the territorial context of Ibitipoca State Park, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Ibitipoca State Park (PEIb), in Minas Gerais, is one of the most visited conservation units in Brazil. Over the last years, the park has received an increasing number of visitors, with different social-spatial repercussions. Inspired by this context, this work aims to understand the impacts of tourism in the territorial context of PEIb. This research, based on qualitative method, involved bibliographical and documentary data collecting, participative formulation of an indicator system in order to measure the impacts of tourism in PEIb, data feeding of this indicator system by research in official databases and surveys and interviews with social segments linked to the study context. The results indicate a relevant influence of tourism in the context of the park, both negative and positive, and that many strategic topics are hardly taken into consideration regarding ecotourism planning actions in the park and its surrounding area.