THE REPERCUSSIONS OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN TOURISM IN THE MAIN DESTINATIONS OF RIO GRANDE DO NORTE

The year 2020 experienced a historic crisis, triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic. Tourism is among the economic activities most affected by the crisis and the state of Rio Grande do Norte (RN) being an important Brazilian tourist destination, the present article aims to analyze the repercussions of this crisis in the tourism sector of the main destinations of RN, throughout the year 2020. The research is exploratory and explanatory in nature, with qualitative and quantitative analysis of primary and secondary data. The results show that the year 2020 can be divided into two different moments: the first refers to the 1st semester of 2020, a period of worsening of the crisis, with high unemployment rates in the sector and dependence on self-employed and informal workers in solidarity networks. and social security policies; the second moment refers to the resumption of regional/road tourism as of July 2020 and, later, national/air tourism, which reheated the sector's labor market, even in times of pandemic.