El desenvolvimiento de la actividad turística en la presa hidroeléctrica de Iaipu Binacional: Un territorio en una sociedad transfronteriza

Abstract

This article refers to the building and installation of the Itaipu Dam, a binational hydroelectric facility located in both Brazilian and Paraguayan territory. The analysis is focused on the contribution of tourism to the regional development of the area since 1977, when the first visitors where registered in the dam. Itaipu was conceived with the aim to boast the “biggest hydroelectric dam in the world”, thus everyone arriving in Foz do Iguaçu could have the chance to visit and learn about its features. An empirical research method as been used in order to describe the setting up of transborder territories in Western Parana (Brazil) along the bordering areas with Argentina and Paraguay. The study deals with the issue of inserting the dam in this transborder region through the signing of a joint constitution between Paraguay and Brazil known as the Itaipu Treaty, aswell as the company’s goal and the inclusion of tourism as a provider of development and sustainabilty for the area.