Hotel Sector Survey: Sustainable Indicators The research was done by the Secretary of Minas Gerais State for Tourism (SETUR MG), in 2015 and aimed to gather information to help the development of public policies to hotel business, especially with regard to the sustainability of establishments. The research was held in three of the main cities of the State, which have received Olympic delegations in preparation for Rio 2016 Olympic Games. The survey used followed models of hotel censuses conducted in Brazil and was also based on the “European Tourism Indicator System for Sustainable Destinations”, created by the European Union. In relation to the establishments, the following topics were analyzed: sustainable management, voluntary certification for the environment, sustainability measures, initiatives to reduce CO2 emissions, selective collection, water recycling and effective actions to support protection, conservation and management of local biodiversity and landscape. A new version of the survey is planned for 2019.

The Tourism Observatory of Minas Gerais is a research network composed by 18 entities between public and private institutions (including tourism universities) and coordinated by the Secretary of Minas Gerais State for Tourism. The Observatory aims to monitor, as a network, the touristic activities in the State, encouraging innovation, market intelligence and to promote academic researches. The entity has as fundamental premises the sharing of information and the establishment of partnerships to carry out its activities. The partnerships can help the formulation and application of researches, generation of reports, exchange of information and knowledge, fieldworks, academic work, among others. In the website (https://seturmg.wixsite.com/observatorioturismo), the surveys, data and results produced by the network can be downloaded and viewed in a practical and easy way, assisting in studies, planning actions and decision-making by those involved in the tourism sector. The Observatory is also responsible for the “Tourism Research and Innovation Seminar” (http://tourism4sdgs.org/events/seminario-mineiro-de-pesquisa-e-inovacao-em-turismo/), and also participates in the “ Brazilian Tourism Observatories Network”, which was originated in the first seminar edition. Through Decree No. 47,526/2018, the Observatory was regulated as a research entity, being supported by State Law No. 22,765/2017.

The “Seminário Mineiro de Pesquisa e Inovação em Turismo (SEMPIT)” aims to provide an environment of knowledge and information exchange between the academic community and tourism professionals. Held every two years and already having two successful editions, SEMPIT has the intention to foment the production of studies and research related with the impact of tourism as a socioeconomic development activity. In addition, it enables the equality of information and methodologies among researchers. Also, it contributes to promote new projects in tourism sector related with public and private sector. The event stimulates publication of scientific papers with the aim to generate projects of greater assertiveness and costs reductions. It also encourages support from government and private sector to increase studies and investments in the field of innovation in tourism, generating products of greater acceptance in the market and increasing tourist satisfaction in Minas Gerais. In addition, the SEMPIT programme includes national and international speakers and presentation of articles where the best are selected to be published in academic journals. The event is organized by the “Observatório do Turismo de Minas Gerais”, which is a research network composed by public and private companies. It aims to promote tourism in Minas Gerais, incentive innovation projects, market intelligence and develop academic research in tourism.