Early accounts mainly by anthropologists and sociologists from the late 1970s have documented the changes and transformations that take place in host communities as a consequence of tourism development and growth. Since this time there have been numerous empirical studies which have focused on this growing field of research. There is however a lack of research specifically concerned with the impacts of tourism on young residents of host communities. As a result this paper presents a critical and deconstructive analysis of the presence or lack of young people’s voices in tourism social impact research. The main argument is that young people’s resilience and ability to adapt to change and cope with the socio-cultural changes which take place in their community as a result of tourism, remain under-researched. Their voices remain unheard and their involvement in tourism research as well as in tourism policy and planning at a community level is limited.