Additional information
by Stroma Cole (Author)
Can tourism help a poor remote community to develop? How much does tourism change a village? How can a village have the benefits tourism offers without the problems it can cause? These are the questions that lie at the core of this text. Using an anthropologist's eye and a high degree of trust, this book uncovers the story of tourism development in two small villages on a remote island of Eastern Indonesia.The ethnography provides a rich description of life in a non-western marginal community in a contemporary global context and how they face the challenge of balancing socio-economic integration and cultural distinction. It uncovers the conflicts of tourism development between a poor community, tourists, governments and brokers. This micro study has ramifications beyond the locality. Many other villages in Indonesia are experiencing similar issues. Many of the challenges are relevant to peripheral communities across the globe. Themes in this book will resonate with studies of tourism, tourists, development, globalisation and cultural change from around the world.
Author Biography
After studying social anthropology and extensive travel in Indonesia, Stroma Cole started her own tour operating business. For six years she led small groups all over the Indonesian archipelago. Following a period of consultancy with UNESCO and ADB she returned to the UK and took up her post at Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College. Stroma continued to visit the remote Ngadha villages on the island of Flores to study the effects of tourism. She completed her PhD in 2003 and has published extensively. She continues to research tourism in Indonesia and other less economically developed countries. She is chair of Tourism Concern.
