[From the introduction]:The purpose of this dissertation is to study the development of tourism in the town of Bakau, in The Gambia, to place its development within the general context of socio-cultural changes in the town, and to study and assess interaction between tourists and residents in Bakau. As my fieldwork for this dissertation developed, the main focus of my research narrowed to a study of the youths in Bakau and their interactions and relations inward to their elders in town and outwards to the tourists with whom many youths have regular contact. A large number of youths in Bakau become beachboys or so-called "bomsas" and in this dissertation I focus on the activities of the "bomsas" who assume the role of culture brokers, acting as mediators and innovators in town. I also focus on the level and the types of interaction between the tourists who visit Bakau and the "bomsas" and other residents in Bakau. Finally I consider how the residents in Bakau view tourism and tourists in their town