ABSTRACT
The post-World War II global growth of tourism has given rise to a wide range of tourism impact studies. However, with regard to tourism's social impacts (which affect human behaviour and organisation), current knowledge - which stems largely from studies of tourism in less developed countries and regions and in areas where tourism has developed within a relatively short time-frame - may not reflect accurately the conditions present in rural areas of Scotland. Owing to Scotland's relatively slow historical rate of tourism growth and the predominance of domestic tourism (annually, around 92 per cent of tourist trips in Scotland are generated from within the United Kingdom), impacts associated with rapid and unchecked tourism development, or levels of relative wealth and cultural differences between host and guest, may be less severe or non-existent in this country.
