Belém, Pará - During the event ‘Connecting Cultures and Nature: Sustainable Tourism Initiatives from Brazil and the European Union’, held on Wednesday (18) in Belém, Brazilian and European experts highlighted how innovative forms of intelligent, creative and experiential tourism can promote the environmental, cultural and social sustainability of communities.
Organised by the Delegation of the European Union to Brazil, in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism and Belém City Hall, the event preceded the meeting of the G20 Tourism Ministers and the 4th meeting of the G20 Tourism Working Group. One of the main topics to be debated at these meetings is sustainable tourism, whose approved proposals will be taken to the G20 Leaders' Summit in Rio de Janeiro in November.
With COP30 approaching, which will be hosted in Belém in 2025, the Amazonian city has become a strategic stage for debating and implementing tourism practices that not only attract visitors, but also respect and preserve the environment and local cultures.
Born in Pará, the executive secretary of the Ministry of Tourism, Ana Carla Machado Lopes, opened the event by emphasising the importance of integrated actions to transform Belém into a sustainable tourist destination that becomes an example to the world. ‘We want visitors from Pará, Brazil and the world, but, as the Mosaico de Ravena song says, let them come one at a time. After all, we don't want our alligators tripping over you, in other words, let everyone come, but with respect for local diversity. For this to happen, it's important that all of us are also prepared to turn these issues into good practice.’
Belém's Secretary of Tourism, Julia Gorayeb, highlighted the need to prepare the city and Pará beyond international events: ‘We are working not only for COP30, but also to transform Pará into a smart tourist destination that has a positive impact on visitors and those who live here.’
Marlene Bartes, director of policy at the European Commission, spoke about the importance of making tourism greener, more digital and more resilient by 2030, focusing on the three dimensions of sustainability: environmental, economic and social. ‘We need to ensure that tourism benefits not just one part of a country, but tourism as a whole. Good practice is key.’
Stephanie Horel, programme officer for the Delegation of the European Union to Brazil, said that it was essential that everyone knew about the global sustainability agenda. ‘The COP is not the World Cup. It's important to bring the COP to Belém, yes. But it's important to think about the negotiations that will take place here next year: countries will discuss the terms for renewing their ambitions on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.’
According to Stephanie Horel, the event will also be important ‘for many people to get to know the reality of the urban Amazon. Because everyone hears about the forest and indigenous peoples, which are very important issues. But you have to think that 60 per cent of the people who live in the Amazon are in cities.’

European perspective
The first panel, moderated by Luiz Fernando Destro, director of tourism for the Czech Republic, looked at good ecotourism and nature conservation practices in European countries, with the participation of Luís Campos, Portugal's representative for Tourism Affairs in the European Union, and Ricardo Blanco, director of Sustainable Tourism at Spain's Secretary of State for Tourism.
Luís Campos shared his experience of the Empresas Turismo 360° programme, created in 2021 with the aim of putting companies at the centre of the transformation process towards a more responsible and sustainable sector. 360° encourages tourism companies to report on their sustainability performance, giving them technical support in integrating ESG - Environmental, Social and Governance - factors into their business strategy, management and organisational culture. Those who fulfil the performance criteria receive a certification label.
Ricardo Blanco presented Natura 2000, the largest coordinated network of protected areas in the world. All EU member states are part of the network, covering 18 per cent of the EU's land area and almost six per cent of its marine territory. The aim of Natura 2000 is to guarantee the long-term survival of Europe's most valuable and threatened species and habitats. Blanco showed how Spain exploits tourism in the areas that are part of the network, offering visitors unique experiences of contact with nature and the preservation of fauna and flora.
Community and Cultural Tourism
The second part of the event was marked by case studies of sustainable community-based tourism in Belém. Izete Costa, better known as Dona Nena, recounted her experiences of making chocolate on Combu Island.
Dona Nena's story is testimony to how community-based and sustainable tourism can be professionalised and become a source of income generation and improved quality of life for residents. ‘Today, I have my Amazon chocolate factory, which used to be just a dream. I welcome tourists to enjoy unique experiences in the forest. I'm learning English to welcome visitors to COP30,’ Dona Nena said proudly.
Silvia Cruz, a tourism expert and professor at UFPA (Federal University of Pará), presented data showing the impact of community tourism initiatives on the islands of Combu and Cotijuba. She highlighted the challenges that residents face in sustainably exploiting socio-biodiversity and promoting authentic experiences for visitors, such as the lack of drinking water, property speculation and the increase in businesses run by non-native people.
Inês Silveira, president of the Belém Cultural Foundation (Fumbel), spoke about the importance of recovering local cultural heritage and highlighted various civil society initiatives carried out during the Círio de Nazaré and how this impacts the city well in advance. ‘The Círio attracts religious tourism, but also cultural tourism, which includes activities such as the Auto do Círio, the Festa da Chiquita and the Arrastão do Círio, the Arraial do Pavulagem. And we, as public authorities, are there together, supporting and organising the city so that everyone has a good experience.’
Complementing the panel, Professor Carlos Costa, from the University of Aveiro in Portugal, presented a model created to boost sustainable tourism in the Amazon. Costa explained that the ‘visitor economy’ should have the effect of boosting the local economy and benefiting its residents, from the perspective of offering tourists ‘physical and psychological sustainability’.
The idea is to go beyond the basics - accommodation and food - and create a dimension that is associated with the economy of experiences. ‘To be a successful destination, and the Amazon is clearly a successful destination, the Amazon needs to be presented as something unique, and it is, an experience that leaves memorable memories. Marketing must appeal to the hearts of visitors.’ He also recalled the importance of the carrying capacity of destinations, which involves issues such as territorial planning and city infrastructure.
Following this approach of giving an emotional meaning to travelling, Caroline Couret, from the Creative Tourism Network, presented the advantages of creative tourism as an alternative that suits various types of destinations. ‘This type of activity offers tourists the opportunity to develop their creativity by interacting with the locals and customs of a destination. It's vocational tourism, based on personal passions and interests.’
As Stephanie Horel rightly pointed out, Belém has everything to offer intelligent, creative and experiential tourism. ‘Nature, culture, music, gastronomy. Belém has to be proud of what it has to offer the world, because it's something very special that only exists here.’

Find photos of the event here:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-CaibcQklvu-Tag6IM0n2aX4LnXfryhN