Tourism and crime: the opportunity costs of violence for the tourism sector and its spillovers on the other sectors of the Rio de Janeiro economy
Tourism; Crime; Rio de Janeiro; Productive Structure; Input-output
This research proposal aims to analyze the opportunity costs resulting from the increase in crime in the state of Rio de Janeiro (ERJ) and its consequences in the tourism sector, in addition to its effects on the other sectors that make up the ERJ's productive chain. In the current Brazilian political scenario, the tourism sector has gained notoriety at the federal and state levels as an important sector for the country's economic activity. Tourism in Rio de Janeiro has historically always shown great potential due to its natural attractions and major events held, such as Carnival and, more recently, mega sporting events that aimed to put Brazil on the international tourist route. In this way, expectations about tourist activity as an alternative for recovery and development for the state’s economy have been expanded. However, the increase in crime in RJ can be seen as an obstacle to the attractiveness of the tourist market, since the guarantee of tourist safety is one of the requirements for the quality of the tourist destination. Statistics show that the increase in violence in RJ was followed by a reduction in international landings. Given the state's tourism potential and the improvement of infrastructure after mega-events, it is important to verify the impacts of the recrudescence in violence for the tourism economy and the opportunity costs for the sector, as well as possible developments for other sectors of the economy. To achieve this goal, the regional input-output matrix of the state of Rio de Janeiro was used for 2009, disaggregated for the tourism sector. After realizing the shock of the opportunity cost arising from crime for the tourism sector after mega events, the preliminary results showed that there was an economic loss for the sector, as well as a reduction in the GDP of Rio de Janeiro.