Stranger Encounters: The Impact of Tourists in Cuban Bed-and-Breakfasts, by Kim Kozak, will be soon available through Caribbean Studies Press.

Description: Tourism is now considered the leading industry in Cuba. For Cubans, this tourist boom is providing welcome opportunities for self-employment and access to hard currency. Tourists looking to experience the country outside of large hotels and resorts often choose accommodations in casas particulares, the Cuban equivalent of bed-and-breakfasts, where they enter the private homes and everyday life of Cuban people.

This dynamic intersection of “outsiders” into the private spaces of daily life is the subject of this book, which details the physical and social adjustments of the owners and visitors of casas particulares. The work includes a background history of international tourism in Cuba before and after the revolution, as well as the attractions of Trinidad de Cuba, the site of the study, for tourists. The book then delves into the micro-geography of domestic and everyday spaces in casas particulares with thorough and engaging accounts by tourists and owners navigating this new territory.

Kim Kozak is a cultural geographer. She focuses her research on the organization of space and cultural landscapes, tourism, and micro-geographies. She holds a special interest in Latin American landscapes and has lived and worked in several countries throughout the Americas. After receiving her PhD she began lecturing in Canada and has since worked for several universities within Canada and the United States.

For more information, see http://www.caribbeanstudiespress.com/forthcoming.books.php?book_number=39&action=description