Ringer, Greg2006-01-102006-01-101996Annals of Tourism Research 23 (4): 950-953https://hdl.handle.net/1794/2091International tourism is now the dominant force in the world economy and consequently, is heavily promoted as a source of funding sustainable community development. Developing and marketing communities as tourist destinations rarely comes without human costs, however, including a transfiguration of the inhabitants' social history and the dynamics of their place. As a result, there exists tremendous need for additional research on the long-term effects of tourism on emergent destination communities. In response, this study presents the preliminary findings of research among residents and visitors to the twin Alaska "ghost" towns of Kennicott and McCarthy and the implications for a new direction in tourism studies, one that recognizes a socially-defined landscape often overlooked in the traditional literature of tourism and outdoor recreation in protected areas in Alaska and worldwide.263631 bytesapplication/pdfen-USAlaskaTourismEnvironmental perceptionCognitive imagesWildernessNational parksKennicott (Alaska)Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park and Preserve (Alaska)McCarthy (Alaska)Article