The different activities performed by humans are responsible for numerous environmental impacts, as changes in natural environments, species extinction and etc. In order to ensure the existence of these natural environments, the delimitation of "Natural Protected Areas" emerged as a possible solution. Specifically in Brazil, this movement started in the beginning of the twentieth century, but became more expressive mostly from the 1990s. The present work aimed to study the role that tourism development in "natural protected areas" can have both in helping to maintain the biodiversity, as well as to minimize the conflicts of interest that may arise from the relationship between the different actors existing in these areas . In this sense, the Natural Municipal Park of Grumari, in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was used as a specific case study. The collection of information was based on bibliographical research, interviews and field works. In general, it was possible to note the various conflicts of interest between local communities, traders, government, associations, local visitors and tourists, as well as the significant role of tourism helping to reduce these conflicts and bringing positive perspectives for the different actors found , mainly for local communities.