This article analyzes sustainable development in the process of formation of a local productive arrangement in tourism areas, where tourism has evolved from being a spontaneous phenomenon, to one that is planned, coordinated and integrated. In terms of methodology, the research is an exploratory-descriptive case study, with longitudinal, qualitative analysis. It aligns the concepts of local sustainable development and local productive arrangement, and analyzes the changes introduced to the production model of day-to-day business practices, through to the formation of the local productive arrangement, along with the socio-economic improvements introduced to the areas. This is done using the primary data collected, human development indices, and other social indicators. It is reaffirmed that business alliances between associations within the same sector, business people within the sector and other sectors, the participation of municipal, state and federal governments, and in particular, the local community, are necessary conditions for strengthening the local productive arrangement. It is demonstrated, comparing the indices for other towns in Santa Catarina, that tourism, as a factor for promoting local development, encourages a diversified and sustained development, and produces infrastructural transformations to support the growth and diversification of the productive base. This theory is corroborated through a case study of tourism development in Treze Tílias – SC. Key words: Sustainable Development; Local Productive Arrangement; Strategic Assessment.