Tourism capital and the structuring of the field
evidence from a historical and port area in Brazil
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7784/rbtur.v20.3510Keywords:
Tourism capital, Tourism field, Tourism disputes, BourdieuAbstract
This article analyzes how tourism capital structures the tourism field in urban contexts, based on a case study conducted in a historical and port area in Brazil. Grounded in a Bourdieusian perspective, the study proposes the concept of tourism capital as a relatively autonomous form of capital, capable of organizing disputes among agents and influencing the formation of coalitions within tourism. Methodologically, a mixed-methods approach is adopted, combining semi-structured interviews (n=59), document analysis, and relational mapping of agents, alongside the analytical operationalization of economic, cultural, social, and tourism capital. The findings demonstrate that tourism capital plays a central role in structuring hierarchies among agents and is unequally distributed among state actors, market agents, tourists, and residents. State and market agents concentrate higher volumes of this capital, while residents and workers remain marginalized, with limited capacity to influence the field. The study contributes by advancing the theoretical notion of tourism capital, articulating the tourism field in urban contexts, and proposing a relational approach for the empirical analysis of capitals. The findings also resonate with dynamics observed in Latin American cities, contributing to broader debates on inequality and the structuring of tourism.
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