ABSTRACT
When I contemplated how to begin this chapter on innovative research methodologies: an obligation imperative to new tourism research, I tried not to restrict myself unnecessarily, for limitation is not what this book sets out to achieve. On the contrary, pioneering research methodologies and innovative methods are most needed. However, this task may not be as easy as it appears, for academia can be a very critical field: new approaches can sometimes be received rather callously. For me, the innovative research methodologies of the future represent exciting, ground-breaking, fun and jubilant actions that liberate both the researcher and the researched — moving away from rigidity and impersonal processes. After all, imparting knowledge is a profound task and in the spirit of the critical turn let me start with a rather unusual prelude.
