INTRODUCTION
study of the effects of tourism trends amongst hosts and guests within the most developed economies in the world. Conversely, Michel focuses his analysis on the margins of the system, presenting a case study of both the most developed tourism destinations of the world and those who are recently beginning to take part in the travel industry. Taking into consideration a range of underlying factors, including the new complexities of globalization, voluntary and forced mobility, and emerging interests amongst tourists, Michel reflects on the complex setting in which tourism is developed and the social impacts it can have on host communities. The first chapter closes with the proposal of Tompkins, who suggests a new utopia, ¨The New Economy”, based in the context of post-capitalism. Applying his vision to tourism development in rural and natural areas, Tompkins proposes to overcome current crisis from within; utilizing the same systems with a new focus, based on eco-location of socioeconomic relations, care of the aesthetics of “place” and a focus on biodiversity, as key factors of sustainability. The second chapter focuses on the question, “What prospects arise when tourism develops in extreme geographies? Each of the four contributions chosen for this chapter, address tourism development in the Aysén Region of southern Chile; a remote frontier geography, in the north west of Chilean Patagonia. Together, they offer a range of disciplinary approaches and theoretical frameworks, forming a comprehensive case study; which challenges the current system of mass tourism, as well as that of special interest tourism. Instead, they suggest new roles and possibilities for tourism within remote societies, which focus on the needs of the people and their territory, above all. First, Bourlon and Mao, introduce a model for “scientific tourism”, developed during a project undertaken by CIEP, beginning in 2009, to develop a "Centre for Scientific Tourism in Patagonia”. The interesting thing about this organizational and management model of special interest tourism, is the localized reflection and engineering it provokes. Their scientific tourism model is based on the generation of innovative ideas that arise in geographic extremes; rather than from the intellectual and management centers traditionally assumed to be the source for new perspectives and innovations. Nevertheless this model could not have been designed and implemented without a comprehensive understanding of the socio-geographical territory of the Region of Aysén, Chile. Thus, the second work, presented in this chapter, authored by Escobar and Bourlon, presents a detailed analysis of the various plans and land management programs of the Aysén Region, with an analysis of their respective strengths and weaknesses. The third paper proposes and explores a social categorization to understand the transformation of lifestyles in the local communities within the Aysén Region. Torres and Rojas show that a phenomenon they call “tourist forms of life” is arising. Their argument focuses on changes that have taken place in the region since the construction of the Austral Highway, beginning in the late 1970s. Torres and Rojas theorize that local society is evolving; maintaining aspects of traditional lifestyles and incorporating elements from the cultural exchanges taking
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