MUNICIPAL TOURISM COUNCIL OF BARREIRINHAS (MA): FROM REORGANIZATION TO DIGITAL VOUCHERS/ISSQN

Abstract

This article aims to investigate the implications of the creation of the Municipal Tourism Council
(Comtur) on the occasion of implementing the Tax on Services of Any Nature (ISSQN) and the Digital
Tourism Voucher by means of a new arrangement of the local tourism governance. The research is
qualitative, exploratory-descriptive and developed with an analysis of the implications of the behavior
of actors from the civil society, the business sector and the municipal authorities. Data gathering was
done by means of semi-structured interviews with members of the business sector, the municipal
authorities and the local community. The analysis stems from the examination of official documents
and of scientific articles and master’s and doctoral theses. The results indicate that the governance
rearrangement operated in Barreirinhas (MA) and the implementation of the digital voucher have
engaged the stakeholders of the tourism sector, leaded by the municipal authorities, in the setting of common goals. Nevertheless, we have observed that the management of governance has met
difficulties and challenges concerning transparency of actions and fulfillment of collectively
established deals.