Hospitality and leisure for traveler patients and their companions in the area of the Cancer Hospital in Barretos, SP, Brazil

Abstract

This research analyzed traveler patients’ human relations and well-being during cancer treatment in the Cancer Hospital in Barretos, SP, Brazil – as well as their companions –, aiming to identify the leisure activities available and/or performed in the hospital surroundings, where most of the accommodations used by the patients from other regions of Brazil and abroad are located. Furthermore, the hotel services were studied to identify the public’s perception concerning the local hospitality. The study was conducted from May to November of 2015, using a descriptive phenomenological research approach, it were applied semi-structured interviews with the traveler patients under treatment in the Cancer Hospital, their companions and hospitality entrepreneurs. The results showed that these people felt welcomed in Barretos and, although struggling with the disease and its physical and/or emotional conditions, they confirmed the need for an increase in public leisure areas in the city, like squares and movie screens, as well as some activities that enable them to have a break for leisure, in order to make more pleasant their free time during cancer treatment, besides allowing the stimulation of the local tourism economy.