As tourism service standards become more homogeneous travel destinations worldwide are conforming yet still trying to maintain or even increase their distinctiveness. Based on more than two years of fieldwork in Yogyakarta Indonesia and Arusha Tanzania this book offers an in-depth investigation of the local-to-global dynamics of contemporary tourism. Each destination offers examples that illustrate how tour guide narratives and practices are informed by widely circulating imaginaries of the past as well as personal imaginings of the future.