História do turismo na cidade de Manaus: 1880 - 1920

Abstract

The City of Manaus lacks historical records on tourism. No documents are found detailing when the local tourist activity originated and how it developed. However, based on periodicals from the golden period of rubber, it is assumed that tourist activity began around 1885, after the discovery of the vulcanization process of latex, when people from different parts of the country and the world became part of the region's daily life. With the enrichment provided by rubber, Manaus became a city with intense commercial and cultural movement, and underwent major urban and architectural changes. A constant stream of visitors began to circulate in Manaus, due to the many circus and theater companies in Europe that performed in the big hotels of the city. This demand significantly impacted the services and social dynamics of the city. However, it is not known when the origin of the local tourist activity, due to the little information and bibliographies referring to the theme "history of tourism in the city of Manaus". In this sense, seeking to understand the historical aspects related to tourism in the capital of Amazonas, the objective was to present, from a historical perspective, facts and aspects that could evidence the existence of tourism in Manaus, during the Belle Époque period, in the years from 1880 to 1920. The method used was historical. The research was characterized as exploratory and descriptive, and had a qualitative approach. The technical procedures used were based on bibliographic and documentary research. The results showed that the structural, economic and cultural changes that Manaus underwent during this period provoked the influx of visitors to the city, and even without the proper historical records of tourist activities at the time, it can be said that evidence has been perceived that allows characterizing some chains of travelers as similar to scientific, business and cultural tourism.