Voices from the margin : youth, identity and belonging in a tourist destination

Children and young people’s views have often been marginalised in social research about their lives, neglecting to focus on the myriad ways they play an active role in the construction of their social world. This is particularly so in the field of tourism studies where children’s voices have largely been absent. This study employed an ethnographic and participatory methodology to explore the lived experiences of young people growing up in the popular tourist destination of Byron Shire in Australia. Findings centred around a range of key issues including participants’ lived experience of their environment and the many subtle strategies employed to negotiate identity and belonging in a community with a continuous flow of visitors.