TOURISM COOPERATION NETWORK: A STUDY OF SMALL HOSPITALITY FIRMS IN CURITIBA, PARANÁ

Abstract

The objectives of this study are to identify the cooperation between the small hospitality firms and institutions and associations involved in tourism, to verify the type of cooperation between these small companies of the hospitality sector and the other tourist companies and to analyze cooperation forms between these companies and the government. The data was collected through semi-structured personal interviews, carried out with hotel owners or managers. The sample criteria was of accessibility or adhesion and 43 interviews were made. The majority of the hotels participate in enterprise associations or organizations related to the sector and consider that it is beneficial because it allows to access information from the market. The cooperation between the hotels and other companies of the sector occurs in most of the cases; however, the majority of the hotels do not cooperate with other hotels because of lack of trust and loyalty among them as a result of the sector’s high level of competitiveness caused by individualism. The majority of the respondents do not consider that the government lends support to the sector because the bureaucracy and the unfamiliarity of the activity make this support difficult.