INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TOURISM, TRAVEL AND HOSPITALITY LAW Thus, today it is undeniable that the tourism sector is part of the sustainability agenda and is present in the debates surrounding the annual United Nations Conferences of the Parties (COPs) in dialogue with nature conservation policies and sustainable economic activity, as it interconnects a series of other sectors in the provision of its services, in addition to the links with global production chains. In the 21st century, the tourism aspect of the Amazon goes far beyond economic development and becomes part of a set of measures to strengthen local identities and the cultural and natural heritage of the states concerned. The very choice of an Amazonian state to host COP30 - as will be the capital Belém in the state of Pará - is an indication of the intention to align an international image that seeks to demonstrate the Brazilian government's actions in relation to protecting the Amazon as well as its commitment to sustainability and combating climate change. Not to mention that since the 1970s the state of Pará has been considered one of the main tourist centres in the entire Brazilian Amazon region. While the intensification of tourism in the region has been remarkable in recent decades, climate change will also have an impact on it as a tourist destination. The 2007 UNWTO report points out how the Amazon region will suffer from the collapse of its native species, especially during intense periods of drought. Climate change caused by global warming will have an impact on tourist destinations in at least four major areas: the direct climate impacts with the intensification of meteorological events such as intense storms or long-lasting droughts with effects on the supply and predictability of tourism services; the indirect impacts of environmental changes that generate loss of biodiversity; the impacts of mobility policies, since transport activities, especially road transport, are the source of a large proportion of CO2 emissions and, as a result of taxes on the sector, there may be a reduction in tourism due to the costs of operations; and, finally, the indirect impacts of social changes that affect issues involving child labor or even the abandonment of local cultures. (Brazil, 2008). It is in this sense that the efforts of the international and domestic spheres and of public and private actors must converge in a more comprehensive understanding of the tourism sector and its role in a sustainable perspective that embraces everything from aspects of economic development to valuing the environmental and social issues that permeate its activity.
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