Sensitivity to cultural difference in tourism research: contingency in research design

This paper evaluates the process of devising a research design to investigate tourism and an Australian indigenous group, the Djabugay. It demonstrates the mutual benefits that can arise in a context of cultural difference when research is predicated on an ethic of responsibility to those who are being researched. In particular, it argues that sensitivity and responsiveness to contingency are vital ingredients in the research design in order to accommodate the concerns of the researched. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.