ABSTRACT
Chapter 1 addresses the facts of movement through a comparative overview of migration and tourism in the region from the 1960s to the present, with emphasis on the 90s and 2000s. I outline political and economic factors influencing various waves of out-migration in the two countries, as well as the marked increase in dependence on tourism and remittances from abroad since 1990. I provide an overview of discussions within Dominican and Cuban Studies surrounding the concepts of diaspora and transnationalism. This chapter also traces a few key works within tourism studies and considers the potential of these and certain visions of cosmopolitanism to frame discussions of im/mobilities in the region.
