ABSTRACT
With the steady growth in international tourism, anthropologists, art historians, and others have become increasingly interested in the ramifications of this form of culture contact, especially where small-scale, nonindustrial societies are concerned. A variety of issues have been studied, ranging from the effects of tourism on local economies to its influence on indigenous values and artistic traditions. 1 Most studies not only perceive tourism as an agent of social change, but also consider such changes as detrimental. While such sentiments are understandable, they also lead to a specific analytical perspective that I wish to take issue with here.
