Cooperation as a boost for innovation in tourism in the Grape and Wine Region of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Abstract

This literature review is aimed at understanding the process of the establishment of the Grape and Wine region in order to analyze potential associative actions that can generate innovation. Handcrafted wine has suffered with competition and has led small farmers to compete against private capital, which has boosted the creation of several production, consumer and credit cooperatives. This work is a development framework for the innovation of tourism projects that take place in this region. Innovation processes are enriched by collaborative development, socialization and the use of expertise. Thus, such local changes may influence economic dynamism and improve the quality of life of the population in small territorial units. The adequacy to the land matrix of the region, which is grounded in the need for adding value to cooperative production, can be perceived in the innovation represented by the establishment of wine production and by the co-existence of cooperatives and associations, both public and private. Local development can consistently and cyclically exploit potentials and contribute to widening social opportunities, in addition to increasing viability and competiveness in the local economy. The perspective of rural tourism has become a viable alternative as it has combined tourism demand with the need for economical alternative for the producers.

Keywords: innovation, tourism, cooperation.