The document summarizes the evolution of tourism in Fortaleza, Brazil through the development of a tourist cluster. It describes how national and local governments fostered investments, businesses, and opportunities to boost tourism. As a result, Fortaleza transformed from attracting around 750,000 tourists annually in 1995 to nearly 3 million in 2012. Current challenges include upgrading from natural resource tourism to culture and events. Several large infrastructure projects are underway in preparation for the 2014 World Cup to further develop the tourist cluster, including a convention center, stadium renovation, airport expansion, and an aquatic park. Ongoing assessment is needed to ensure tourism benefits the local economy and community sustainably.

1. The Evolution of a Tourist Cluster in an Urban Area:
the Case of Fortaleza
Airton Saboya
Academic Summit: Clusters as entrepreneurial ecosystems
4 September 2013

2. The Evolution of a Tourist Cluster in an Urban Area:
The Case of Fortaleza
Airton Saboya
Universidad de Valencia
Institute of Local Development - IIDL
E-mail: arsavaju@alumni.uv.es

3. Presentation Summary
1. Introduction
1.1. The Local Ecosystem
1.2. Tourism and Local Development
2. Objectives and Methodology
3. Main Results
4. Managerial and Cluster Implications
5. Final Remarks

4. 1. Introduction
• Local Development has emerged as an alternative way of territorial
planning.
• The concept of local development is related to the idea of determining the
territorial resource basis as well as the necessities demanded by people,
communities, municipalities and society as a whole (Pike, Rodríguez-Pose
and Tomaney, 2011).
• A key tool is concerted action between different local socio-economic
actors, public and private, targeting the efficient and sustainable use of
endogenous resources.
• This approach considers the importance of social capital, the links of
cooperation, solidarity and entrepreneurial ecosystems that contribute to
the local development strategy (Pike, Rodríguez-Pose and Tomaney, 2011).

5. 1.1. The Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
• Local Development and the Agglomeration of Enterprises.
• A cluster can be conceptualized as a concentration of interconnected companies
and institutions in a given sector (Altenburg and Meyer-Stamer, 1999).
• An Entrepreneurial Ecosystem is a community as well as a network of interactions
among firms and between firms and their environment interacting as a system.
• The Entrepreneurial Ecosystem encourages exchanges in the input, labour and
product markets.
• The Entrepreneurial Ecosystem allows the emergence of economies of scale
external to the firms but internal to the cluster. It also favours the reduction of
transaction costs.
• The system may generate social inclusion, economic growth as well as
development for a territory (Altenburg and Meyer-Stamer, 1999).

6. 1.2. Tourism and Local Development
• Tourism became one of the main targets of local development strategies.
• This activity has evolved in the 20th century succeeding the technological evolution of
passenger transportation, reduction in travel time and costs along with the expansion of the
middle classes.
• The typical Fordist Model (Noguera Tur, 2011):
– Long product/service cycles and a lack of differentiation.
– Passive enjoyment and standardized vacation.
– Homogeneous destinations and prevalence of the producers interests.
– Economies of scale, spatial and business concentration.
– Legal permissiveness to attract investment and to generate environmental impacts.
• The Post-Fordist Model (Noguera Tur, 2011):
– The growing necessity to differentiate and improve the quality of tourism services.
– Multiplication of tourism products,
– Short life cycle, continuous innovation and the prevalence of client interests.

7. 2. Objectives and Methodology
• A cluster related policy has helped to boost tourism in Fortaleza. Both national
and local governmental agencies have been key players fostering investments,
entrepreneurial initiatives and business opportunities.
• The purpose of the study is to present such achievements plus the evolution and
main social-economic impacts of the tourism sector in this city.
• The methodology utilized is policy and cluster analysis (Barbosa and Zamboni,
2000).
• In addition, official statistical data and a regional input-output model were
employed in order to estimate the economic and social impacts of the tourism
demand in Fortaleza (Guilhoto et al, 2010; Valdo Mesquita, 2013).

8. 3. Main Results - Fortaleza Indicators
Population: 2,5 million Area: 313 Km2
HDI: 0.786 GDP per Capita: US$ 6,344

9. The Strategic Location of Fortaleza
Source: SETUR (2013).
Fortaleza Flight Time
Lisbon – Europe: 6h30
Miami – North America: 6h30
Buenos Aires – South America: 5h00
Praia – Africa – 4h00

10. The Tourism Cluster
Source: Barbosa and Zamboni, 2000.

11. Fortaleza
The Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
Business Number of Firms
Travel Firm 333
Lodging 280
Event Business 61
Tourism Transport 27
Taxi Cooperative 4
Tour Operator 715
Restaurant 950
Handcraft Store 225
Total 2.595
(2012).
Sources: Valdo Mesquita (2013) and IBGE (2012).

12. Fortaleza - Tourism Demand
Year National International Total
1995 723.688 38.089 761.777
2004 1.534.544 249.810 1.784.354
2012 2.761.412 233.612 2.995.024
Source: Valdo Mesquita (2013).

13. Fortaleza – Tourism Demand by Motivation
Year Leisure Business Event Other Total
1995 571.333 152.355 15.236 22.853 761.777
2005 1.643.995 206.730 110.256 7.875 1.968.856
2010 1.795.383 624.481 218.030 53.835 2.691.729
Source: SETUR (2012).

14. Fortaleza – Tourism Indicators
Item 1995 2011
Expense per Capita/Day (US$) 21 76
Average Permanency (Day) 12 11
Expense per Capita (US$) 248 806
Tourism Demand (Million of Tourists) 0.7 2.8
Tourism Direct Revenue (US$ Billion) 0.2 2.3
Tourism Total Income (US$ Billion) 0.3 4.0
GDP (US$ Billion) 6.2 36.5
GDP Impact (%) 4.0 11.0
Source: SETUR (2012).

15. Brazil and Fortaleza – Estimates of Tourist Demand
Tourist Demand
(Million of
People)
2010 2014 2018
BRAZIL 72,7 85.5 90.9
National 67.7 78.0 90.0
Foreign 5.0 7.5 9.0
FORTALEZA 2.6 3.2 3.8
National 2.5 3.0 3.5
Foreign 0.1 0.2 0.3
Sources: Brazilian Enterprise of Airport infrastructure-INFRAERO, Ceará State Secretary of
Tourism and Economic Impacts of the 2014 World Cup, Fundaçao Getulio Vargas –FGV and
Ernst Young, 2010.

16. The Main Cluster Strategies
• Elaboration of an analysis about the tourism potential in the region.
• Design and implementation of financing programs destined specifically to the
tourism sector.
• Modernization and diversification of infrastructure and leisure equipment.
• Improvement of transport connections to national and international sites.
• Attraction of national and international investors to the tourist sector.
• Strengthening of horizontal and vertical integration among tourism firms.
• Promotion of city attractions at national and international spheres.

17. 4. Managerial and Cluster Policy Implications
• As a result of these strategies, Fortaleza became one of the most popular
destinations for Brazilian tourists.
• In recent years, the city has been able to attract international visitors as well.
• About 3 million people visited this city in 2012.
• Presently, the main challenge of the cluster is to upgrade its niche market
from the natural heritage, mainly sun, sand and beach, mass tourism to a
demand based on cultural legacy.
• Accordingly, due to the 2014 World Football Cup, a strategy based on
business, sport and artistic events has been sought.
• Consequently, a number of projects are under way …

18. Convention Centre
Cost of the Project: US$ 240 million
Capacity: 30 thousand people.
Floor space: 152,694 m².
Parking: 3,200 parking stalls.
Helipad. 2 pavilions.
Meeting space with more than 5,000 m² of floor
space.
Fortaleza
Convention Centre
A modern and innovative construction. The
Convention Centre will be the second largest in Latin
America, with capacity to host 18 simultaneous
events and 30 thousand delegates. The architectural
design was inspired by the local landscape and
handicrafts. The new space is expected to serve as a
support centre for the international press during the
2014 World Cup.

19. MULTI-USE ARENAAND A LEISURE COMPLEX
67 THOUSAND COVERED SEATS
VIPAREAAND MEETING SPACE
RESTAURANTS, STORES AND MOVIE THEATER
RECREATIONAL FACILITIES AND MUSEUM
ACCESSIBILITY FOR THE DISABLED
MEDIA CENTER
PARKING WITH 1,900 STALLS
Reform of the Castelao Stadium

20. International Airport Expansion
The project includes the refurbishment of the passenger terminal as well as
adaptation of existing access roads to the airport. The airport will have up to date
technology and equipment, jet bridges, baggage carousels and elevators.
Fortaleza
International Airport
Area: 117,620 m2
Elevators: 20
Check in Counters: 80
Baggage Carousels: 9
Jet Bridges: 13

21. Construction of the Harbour Passenger Terminal
Maritime access will be facilitated after the construction of the Harbour Passenger
Terminal. The project includes a new wharf, stores, restaurants, access roads and
parking, well as a container terminal. The terminal will target national and
international cruises.
Mucuripe Harbour
New Wharf - 350 m
Passenger terminal, roads and parking – 20,000 m2
Container Terminal – 40,000 m2
Praia Mansa - 70,000 m2

22. The project will target :
 Street lighting.
 Paving of sidewalks and roads.
 Renovation of street furniture.
 Accessibility for the disabled.
 Construction of recreational
areas.
 Bike and jogging paths.
 Embellishment in general.
The cost of the project is
US$ 150 million.
Waterfront Revitalization

23. Fortaleza Aquarium
Latin America´s largest high tech aquarium. The Aquarium will be the biggest
aquarium in Latin America, enhancing Fortaleza as an international tourism destination.
The new attraction is expected to receive 1.2 million visitors a year. The goal is to make
the oceanarium a tourist magnet for Fortaleza.
Fortaleza Aquarium
Cost of the project: US$ 125 million.
Floor space: 21.5 thousand m².
Capacity: 15 million litres of water.
Visitors expected: 1,2 million per year.
3 levels, restaurants, 4D cinema, aquarium, submarine simulator.

24. 5. Final Remarks
• It is quite certain that the tourism sector will benefit from the infrastructure
investments.
• However, the evolution of the tourism cluster needs to be assessed continuously
as this new infrastructure and equipment is added to the city heritage.
• Tourism is an important source of economic activity, employment and
development, but none of these benefits remains whether this activity is not
planned in a sustainable territorial development strategy.
• Nowadays, the tourism fordist model has evolved to a post-fordist one.
• In conclusion, public intervention needs to take into account at an integrated
tourism development along with the local society including greater
responsibility and profitability for the inhabitants of the territory.

25. Thanks!
Airton Saboya
E-mail: arsavaju@alumni.uv.es