RELIGIOUS TOURISM AND ITS IMPACTS AT THE SANCTUARY OF THE APPEARANCES OF OUR LADY IN NATIVIDADE-RJ

Abstract

Tourism is an important sector for boosting national and local economies. In Natividade, a city in the interior of the state of Rio de Janeiro, there is the Sanctuary of the Apparitions of Our Lady of Nativity, a place that has a great religious event on July 12, when the place receives the largest volume of visitors. It is, therefore, an enterprise of the tourism sector, more specifically of religious tourism. The objective of this article was to identify the origin, characteristics and consumption profile of the religious tourists who visited the place, besides measuring the economic impact produced by the event in the local enterprises and for the workers of the event. As a result, it is identified that the municipality has a significant tourist potential, but still demands investment from the public and private sector.