Manaus aims to attract tourists and consolidate religious tourism in 2024

Manaus (AM) — Manaus invests in the creation of a religious itinerary, in order to prepare the capital of Amazonas to receive tourists attracted by the main religious temples located in the historic center of the city. The investment in cultural heritage aims to consolidate religious tourism in the city in 2024.

The Institute of National Historical and Artistic Heritage (Iphan) Amazonas and the Archdiocese of Manaus signed, on Wednesday (31), the service order for the renovation of historic churches in Manaus, through projects developed by the Municipal Institute of Urban Planning (Implurb), a municipal body that is also involved in the process of implementing religious tourism.

The director-president of the Municipal Foundation of Culture, Tourism and Events (Manauscult), Reginei Rodrigues, ratifies the work between the departments of Manaus City Hall, in creating strategies that turn the capital of Amazonas into one of the main tourist hubs in the North of the country .

“Our city has the potential to attract the whole world with its peculiarities, from our gastronomy, which is not only very rich, but also unique; our postcards, our people, who are naturally very welcoming, and, now, our religious temples which have undergone highly technical work, since the beginning of David Almeida’s management, to become potential tourist attractions. The work, done by four hands, shows the dynamism of the city hall to create new strategies that promote tourism in our city”,

highlighted Rodrigues.

Religious tourism

Religious tourism attracts approximately 340 million tourists from all over the world, who seek to live spiritual and religious experiences. Thus, historic temples and their architectural riches, which carry cultural diversity, are some of the main generators of tourist flow.

The vice-president of Manauscult, Oreni Braga, highlights the work of municipal management to promote Manaus through religious tourism.

“The city of Manaus has four great treasures in the historic center, the Igreja da Matriz, the Igreja dos Remédios, the Igreja da Nossa Senhora Aparecida and the Temple of São Sebastião. These churches have history, architecture and attractions that can become a strategic itinerary for Manaus, within the reading that Mayor David Almeida has been doing in relation to ‘Our Center’, the historic center, the revitalization and repopulation of this area”,

explained Braga, who also reinforces the importance of working in partnerships that help to consolidate the initiative.

“Since 2021, we have been in partnership with Senac, the City Council, Abav (Brazilian Association of Travel Agencies), several partners in the tourist trade, some hoteliers, working on this roadmap to become a reality in our historic center. These churches were visited by our entire technical team, so we created an action plan, which includes the diagnosis of these churches, what they need to become an adequate visitation temple safely, the implementation or not of museums inside the temples, stores of souvenirs, offering services linked to churches with local guidance”,

highlighted.

With the scenario diagnosed, the City of Manaus, together with partner entities, took the necessary measures and prepared the strategic plan together with the Pastoral of the Catholic Church and the priests responsible for the churches that will be part of the itinerary.

“The itinerary is ready, we have already trained 50 people to act as tour guides and local drivers, including some Venezuelans. Now, we are preparing the promotional material for this itinerary to be disseminated at the seven national tourism fairs that we will participate in in 2024”,

commented Braga.

This year, the promotional material for the city of Manaus to be released at national fairs, which already includes our main postcards, regional gastronomy, the programs that make up adventure tourism such as Manaus Adventure, and the events that are hallmarks of capital of the Amazon, such as the Amazonas Folklore Festival and #SouManaus, will also include the inclusion of the religious itinerary, in which the churches located in the Historic Center of Manaus will be a strategic part to consolidate the flow of tourist visits to these temples.

Oreni concludes with the integrated work between municipal management bodies, highlighting the actions of the Municipal Institute of Urban Mobility (Immu) in the intense search to promote better fluidity in circulation on the streets, the Municipal Public Cleaning Secretariat (Semulsp), with cleaning of the spaces that are part of the perimeter of the route, the Municipal Infrastructure Secretariat (Seminf) supporting the structural part of the streets, the Municipal Guard acting for security in the historic center, in addition to the support of Iphan and other bodies.

*With information from consultancy

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