ACATMAR president Mané Ferrari is reappointed to lead FORTUR, the Greater Florianópolis Tourism Forum

Tourism in Greater Florianópolis is starting a new phase of coordination, and it runs through a name directly linked to the Blue Economy. Meeting on Thursday, August 13, at CentroSul, during the 37th Encatho & Exprotel, FORTUR (the Greater Florianópolis Tourism Forum) unanimously reappointed Mané Ferrari as president and Hamilton Peluso as vice-president, through December 2026.

The current leadership is tasked with reorganizing the Forum, broadening the involvement of member entities and preparing the transition to a new administration in 2027, focused on uniting the trade, taking part in strategic decisions and strengthening regional tourism.

"Tourism in Greater Florianópolis needs to speak again with a strong, coordinated voice. We have highly representative entities, but when each one acts on its own, we lose influence. We do not just want to be informed about the future of tourism. We want to help build it," says Mané Ferrari, president of FORTUR and of ACATMAR.

What this means for ACATMAR and the Blue Economy

Nautical tourism is one of the four pillars of the Blue Economy, alongside industry, trade and services. Having ACATMAR's president also leading the region's main tourism forum brings together two agendas that already move side by side and puts the sea at the center of the conversation about tourism development. In practice, the Blue Economy gains a seat and a voice in the decisions that shape the future of tourism in Greater Florianópolis.

For ACATMAR, it is recognition of the weight of the nautical sector and the Blue Economy in the region's development, and one more space to defend an agenda the association keeps repeating: the sea as an economy that generates jobs, income and tourism.

Events tourism on the radar

Among the topics that drove the meeting is the competitiveness of Florianópolis in the events market, especially given the transition period involving CentroSul. The sector warns that attracting congresses and major events is decided two, three or even four years in advance. The Forum intends to follow the issue so that promotion and attraction do not lose momentum, preserving a segment that drives hospitality, dining, transport, retail and a broad chain of services.

The trade wants to take part in decisions

Another central point of this revival is broadening the participation of entities in building tourism policies and strategies. The understanding is that the private sector, being directly connected to the market, visitors and investments, needs to take part in discussions from the start, not just receive ready-made projects. Destinations such as Balneário Camboriú and Joinville were cited as references for integration between the private sector and government.

Funding tourism and a 2027 agenda

Building permanent funding sources for tourism should also gain space, with topics such as the Municipal Tourism Fund, the Room Tax and the impacts of the Tax Reform on tourism municipalities. As the first move of this new phase, FORTUR will update the representation of its entities and begin building a joint agenda of priorities, aiming to reach 2027 more representative and ready to act as a collective voice for tourism in Greater Florianópolis.

"The continuity of FORTUR must come with a new dynamic. Tourism has an enormous weight in the economy of Greater Florianópolis and needs representation that matches that importance," highlights Hamilton Peluso, vice-president of FORTUR.

With information from the FORTUR press release, dated August 13, 2026.