| Abstract: | Through colonial intervention, several South Pacific countries were catapulted from a decentralized village-based society to a centralized state in which the metropolitan power imposed its own legislation in a comprehensive way. Little account was taken of prevailing traditional values and practices as the Island countries leapfrogged much of the pioneer stage of development. The direction of change was prescribed by imported models imposed from above. Today, the participation of indigenous communities in tourism may be strongly supported by government policy but inhibited in practice by long standing legislative requirements. The concept of “pioneer space” is advanced to bridge the “implementation gap” between tourism policy and effective result, with Solomon Islands as a case study. |
