ABSTRACT
Tourism development has long been promoted as a strategy to support sustainable development. In practice, however, it often leads to livelihood transformations that imply the replacement of existing livelihood strategies with tourism-related economic activities, which may pose major risks to the sustainability of local livelihoods. This article contributes a case study of a fishing community that experiences a profound livelihood transformation induced by tourism development. The data collection for this article was conducted in the coastal area of Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Based on qualitative methods, this article examines the introduction of tourism to a local community that resulted in local fishermen abandoning their fishing operations to focus on tour boat business. As the study shows, local people may succeed in generating a satisfactory income from tourism during the high season, but struggle to cope with challenges related to severe competition, high dependency on tour operators, and a short tourist season. Very limited options remain for local people to maintain their livelihoods if tourism declines.
