Potencial de implantação do ecoturismo no Parque das Nascentes do Rio Parnaíba

Abstract

The growing ecotourism potential in protected areas can be understood as an alternative to balance environmental, economic and social objectives as their foundations are supported by sustainable development, and this evaluation also implements the benefits for tourism and the local population. The objective of this study was to evaluate the ecotourism potential of the Parnaíba River National Park, in the municipality of Barreiras do Piauí, respecting the environment and ensuring that these natural and cultural attractions are available to future generations. A survey was conducted with 50 people from the community and tourists. In the data collection, two methods of quantitative and qualitative analysis were used, one aimed at defining the user profile of the park and the other discussing the benefits that the park brought to the municipality. A non-probabilistic sample was used where the researcher defined that 50 questionnaires would be applied, since the park does not have control of entrance and exit of visitors, we used closed and objective questions with the purpose of measuring the profile of the ecotourist. It concludes that the park of the sources of the Parnaíba River has ecotourism potential with great biodiversity, several species of plants, rivers, hills and mountains, beautiful waterfalls and a variety of wild animals.